


Remembrance

by Cassiel16



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Bella is a kid and Alice loves her but not in a weird way, F/F, Lesbian Lovin', Lesbians, Mates, Vampire/Human, love throughout time, young bella
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-08 02:43:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14684775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassiel16/pseuds/Cassiel16
Summary: Bella keeps running into a strange girl with spiky hair and yellow eyes, and it always seems to be in times of need. The first couple of times she thought she had imagined the whole thing, but now, she's older and she knows better. What she wants to know now is why after twelve years they all look the same and how Alice has been there every time she's needed her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KlayBoof](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlayBoof/gifts).



> So this is mostly complete, I just have to go back through the beginning of Twilight to get some facts straight. As for it possibly sounding strange, I do try to write in the voice more similar to Bella's age.
> 
>  
> 
> So, KlayBoof, this might not be your cup of tea but I figured you were such an....avid supporter of the other story I needed to show my thanks somehow.

**Isabella Swan- 6 years old**

"Bella! Come on!"

"Timmy, hold on!" I yell at Timmy my best friend.

"Don't be such a girl, Bella!" Timmy shouts in front of me.

"Hey!" I yell back, mad that he called me a girl, and hurry to catch up with him. Timmy looks back at me before running off as fast as he can, calling me a slow poke. I call after him but I trip over something and land on the ground.

My hands and knees hurt and when I get up my ankle hurts enough that I start to cry. Not wanting Timmy to laugh at me, I wipe the tears away and swallow. I sit on the log that I tripped over and look around. I don't know where I am and it's starting to get cold. It looks similar to where I live, but mommy said that we weren't close.

Mommy said that we were going to vacation with a friend of hers who lived in Alaska. That she had a son who was my age and that we would get along great! Timmy was nice, but he liked to pick on me alot. He told me he had a secret place in the woods outside his house and he wanted to show me. So we left and he wanted to race, saying that girls aren't allowed to see his secret place, but that if I could beat him he would let me, just this once.

"Timmy! This isn't funny! I'm scared." I can feel my eyes burning but I refuse to cry cause mommy calls me her big girl. "Big girls don't cry, Bella. Timmy will never show you his secret place if you do!" I wipe at my eyes and suck in a deep breath. I stand up and start to walk in the direction of Timmy's house. If Timmy is going to be mean and leave me out here then I don't want to play anymore.

I start walking and walking and walking. I don't remember it taking this long to get to Timmy's house before, but I went in the direction we came from. The forest is starting to get scary and it's really cold out. It's starting to get dark and I know that at home the street lights would be on and I would have to be inside. I don't want mommy to be mad so I continue walking.

I walk until my feet get tired and I can't walk anymore. I find another log and sit down. I can't be far from Timmy's now.

"Timmy! Mommy! Mrs. Holland!" I yell but no one answers. I sit quiet once more and look around. Everything looks the same. Trees and leaves and...green and brown. Stupid forest. Stupid Timmy for leaving me behind. I don't like Alaska.

I jump when something makes a loud noise behind me but I remember Mrs. Holland telling me all about the owls that live near them and the sounds they make. I look around for it, but I can't see it. Stupid owls. I jump again when there is a loud snap and climb further onto the log.

"Wh-who's there? Mommy? Timmy? Timmy, if that's you this isn't funny! I want to go home!" I say but no noise comes from where the snapping came from. I feel the tears start running down my face but I don't care. "Please, I'm scared and I want to go home." No one answers but I see something move and I scream. The shadow steps into light right in front of my log.

"Hey, hey shhh. It's okay sweetie. Hey, it's alright." The girl says and I stop screaming. She smiles and kneels down. "What's your name?"

"Is-Isabella." I say trying not to cry.

"What a pretty name for a pretty girl! Hi Isabella, I'm Alice."

"Bella. Just Bella." I say, I don't like to be called Isabella even by scary strangers.

"Bella. Where are your mom and dad?" Alice asks and I relax a little, letting my feet dangle off the log.

"Daddy is at home and Mommy is at Timmy's house. Mommy and I are on vacation. Timmy was going to show me his secret place, but he ran too fast and I tripped and mommy and Mrs. Holland are going to be mad that I didn't come home." I say and I can feel the tears again.

"Oh, sweetheart no. Your mommy isn't going to be mad. Do you know Timmy's address?" I shake my head and she smiles. "That's okay. Hey, Bella, would you like to come to my house and call your mommy? So that she can come get you." Alice asks, her voice soft but I shake my head again. Alice's pretty smile goes away for a second but it comes back. "Why not?"

"Mommy says I shouldn't talk with or go anywhere with strangers." I say and Alice looks at me, smiling, before putting a hand on her chin.

"Well." She pauses and glances at the log. "Do you mind if I sit down?" I shake my head again and she sits. "Well, that's good advice. How do we become friends then?" I shrug and look at my shoes. "How about we ask each other some questions?" I nod and she smiles, her teeth super shiny in the low light. "Great. What's your favorite color?" I think it over before answering.

"Orange. What's your favorite animal?" I ask, turning more towards her.

"I'd say cats." I can't help but make a face and Alice giggles. "What?"

"Horses are so much better. You can't ride a cat around!" Alice laughs and I laugh with her.

"Do you have any siblings, Bella?"

"No, I want some though. It'd be cool to be a big sister!"

"You'd make a really good one." I smile at Alice and scoot closer.

"You think? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I do. Three brothers and one sister." I stare at her. Most of my friends only had one or two other siblings.

"That's a big family."

"It is, but I love them all very much. Would you like to meet them?" I smile and bounce a little in the log. But what my mommy always says comes back to me and I look away. "I think we're friends now, don't you, Bella? We can talk some more, if you want. But it's dark and cold." She makes a face and asks, "aren't you cold?" I shrug and rub at my arms. I don't want to tell her that I can't really feel my arms and hands. "Silly girl." Alice says softly before moving and taking off her jacket. She offers it to me.

"No thank you. I don't want you to be cold." Alice smiles again, her eyes twinkling.

"I'd like you to have it, Bella. As a gift. From a friend." I stare at the jacket for a moment before taking it and putting it on. I stare at the ground for a minute before looking up at Alice's smiling face.

"Can...can I still meet your brothers and sisters?" I ask softly and Alice jumps up from the log, laughing.

"Of course, sweetie, and we can continue talking on the way there!" She holds her hand out and I take it before quickly letting go. Alice looks at me funny and I stare at her hand.

"Alice. You're cold. I knew you should have kept the jacket, here." I go to take it off, but hands on my shoulders stop me.

"Bella, I'm fine. I promise. Please, keep the jacket." I glance down at the much too big jacket.

"You promise?" Alice nods and I hold out a hand, completely serious. "Pinky promise?" Alice giggles again before hooking her pinky with mine.

"Pinky promise. Now let's go meet the family!"

I take her hand again and hop off the log before falling to the ground, my ankle hurting.

"Ow, ow, ow." Alice is next to me immediately, my hand still in hers.

"Bella, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I poke my ankle and my eyes get blurry.

"When I tripped I hurt my ankle. It really hurts, especially when I walk." Alice is silent for a moment.

"Bella, may I look at it?" I nod and she rolls up my pant leg. "No wonder it hurts. You sprained it, silly."

"What?" Alice laughs and rolls her eyes.

"You hurt it. You shouldn't walk on it. Can I carry you?" I don't want her to carry me, I'm a big girl! But I poke my ankle again and when it yells at me I nod. "Alright, Bella, up we go." Alice puts one arm under my knees and the other under my shoulders and lifts me.

"Is it far to your house?" I ask and she tilts so that I am leaning more against her chest.

"It's not too far. We will be there soon." She looks down at me before smiling. "Cats are better than horses." I gasp and pinch her.

"They are not!" Alice just nods and starts walking. "Horses are great. They can run really fast and jump. They are really pretty and friendly. You can ride them, Alice!" I feel her laugh and I cross my arms. "Cats are mean. They only want to play when they feel like it and they hiss and scratch." Alice laughs some more and moves me so that I am comfortable. I yawn and she hums.

"Do you have a horse, Bella?"

"No, but I want one. And she will sleep in my room with me and I'll ride her to school." I pause and look at Alice. "Do you and your family have a cat, or do your mommy and daddy not let you?"

"Some of my family aren't animal people, sadly."

"Tell me about them?" I ask yawning. She laughs softly and I snuggle into her more, feeling more and more tired.

"Well, like I said, I have four brothers and sisters. There is Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie. My mom is Esme and my dad is Carlisle. Dad is a doctor..." Alice's says and I close my eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Isabella Swan—6 years old.**

I slowly wake up from my dream. I'm not in my bed but I am somewhere awesome. Whatever I am lying on is soft, but also hard. I frown, but snuggle further into whatever it is. This thing is also kind of cold but it feels good. My comfy pillow starts to shake and I open my eyes. My vision is all blurry and I rub my face. Looking at me are some weird colored eyes. They are bright and gooey looking. Yellow. They are yellow. I look further down and see red lips, like mommy has when she goes somewhere with daddy. Her teeth are white, like you see on TV and in mommy's magazines. Her hair is black, like Timmy's cat, but it's spikey. I reach out to touch it and it doesn't poke me like I thought it would. It's really soft, softer than Timmy's cat. I look back into yellow eyes and they look warmer, like how daddy looks at mommy. I can't help but smile.

"Alice?" I ask and her smile widens.

"Hey there sleepy head. We're at my house." I look around and see a ginormous house.

"Your house is huge! I bet hide and seek is really fun!" I say sitting up slightly and Alice shifts so that I can see better.

"Yeah, it'd be a good place for that." She laughs and I smile.

"Do you think you and your family would want to play?"

"Bella, we have to get you home. I bet your mom is worried." Alice says and I frown and cross my arms.

"Well, what if I came back? We could play! Friends play, and you said we were friends." Alice looks away, her smile leaving.

"We'll see, Bella." But she doesn't sound like we are going to play. I open my mouth but someone comes out of the house.

"Alice, you're back early and you aren't alone." A woman says looking worried, looking at me and then Alice. Doing like my mommy taught me, I stick out my hand, the sleeve of my jacket falling over it. I pull it back and reach out again.

"I'm Isabella Swan. Are you Alice's mommy?" The women has yellow eyes like Alice, but her hair is light brown and she looks like a mommy. She looks at me for a second before smiling and taking my hand in hers. Like Alice's, her hand is cold.

"Hello, Isabella, yes I am Alice's mom. Esme."

"It's Bella." I say and Alice's mom laughs.

"Well, Bella," she says looking at Alice, "what are you doing with Alice?" I smile up at Alice and tell her what happened.

"And Alice had to carry me because I tripped. She said I had…" I don't remember what she said and I look at her.

"She sprained her ankle, mom. Dad should look at it." Alice says and her mommy makes a weird sound.

"Aww, poor dear. Are you okay?" I nod and she pushes Alice towards the house. "Are you hungry or thirsty?" I look down at my tummy when it growls.

"Could I have a peanut butter and jelly, please?" Alice's mommy smiles and nods.

Thank you," I pause and lean up close to Alice's ear, "uhm, what do I call her. Mommy says I should never call someone by their first name."

"She wouldn't mind Esme, but since your mom said, call her Mrs. Cullen." Alice whispers back before laughing. I stick my tongue out at her and she laughs some more.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen." Mrs. Cullen turns around and takes my hand and squeezes it gently.

"Of course, dear, any friend of Alice's is welcome here." She turns back around and opens up the door. She holds it until Alice and I are through and then she takes us into the kitchen. I expect Alice to set me down in one of the chairs they have at the table, but she doesn't and continues to hold me. "Now, Bella, what type of peanut butter and jelly would you like?"

"Any kind is okay." I say and Mrs. Cullen pulls out the jars and bread. I look up at Alice. "Alice, am I going to meet your family?" Mrs. Cullen looks up from the sandwich and looks at Alice funny.

"Bella here wouldn't let me bring her home until we became friends. She's not allowed to go with strangers. So we had to tell each other things. Like about our families and how cats are better than horses."

"They are not! I told you they aren't! You can't ride a cat. Mrs. Cullen, what do you think is better, cats or horses?" Mrs. Cullen looks at Alice and me, a small smile on her face.

"I'm going to have to agree with Bella on this one, Alice." She says, winking at me and I laugh, pointing in Alice's face.

"See? You're mommy said I was right! Hah!" Alice rolls her eyes and says something quiet so I can't hear. Her mommy laughs though.

"Here, Bella, one PB&J just for you. Would you like a glass of milk?" Alice sets me down and I take a big bite of my sandwich. I nod and take another bite of my dinner. Mrs. Cullen laughs and gets it out. Alice sits down next to me and I swallow before looking at her.

"After dinner can I meet your brothers and sister? Please?" I ask and Alice laughs quietly.

"She doesn't have any siblings and seems to think that they are the most exciting thing," she says looking at her mommy, "she doesn't understand what a pain in the butt they can be." I giggle and eat more. "But yes, we can see them after you get done, if it's okay with mom." I look at Mrs. Cullen and stick my bottom lip out.

"Oh my, how does anyone resist that face? Yes, Jasper and Edward should be back soon, so you'll get to meet everyone." Mrs. Cullen says and I squeal. I take another bite when my question from earlier pops up in my head.

"Mrs. Cullen, you have a really cool house! And it's huge! Do you think that, maybe, not today Alice said mommy was probably wondering where I was, that me and Alice, and Rosalie and Emmett and Edward and Jasper and you and Mr. Cullen, if you wanted, could play hide and seek?"

"We'll see, dear, but Alice is right, I bet your mom is worried sick. Do you know your number?"

"She's staying with Timmy and his mom." Alice says. "Do you know Timmy's number?" I shake my head.

"Mrs. Holland told me but I forgot, sorry."

"It's okay, dear. We'll see if they are in the phone book, if not I'm sure we can track them down." Mrs. Cullen says and takes away my plate and glass. "Now, you have the rest of the family to meet." I grin and hop off the chair, but I land on my hurt foot and I try to hold back my cry. "Maybe she should see dad first?" I look up at Mrs. Cullen for a second before Alice scoops me up.

"Let's go see dad, Bella!" Alice says holding an arm up, making me laugh. She takes me through her house, telling me more about her family, before we reach a closed door. Alice knocks on it softly and I don't hear anything, but she goes in anyway.

The room is very clean and smells like a hospital. There's a bed on one side and a desk on the other. Bookshelves are all over the place like at the library, but these books look boring. The man at the desk has blonde hair and yellow eyes like Alice and Mrs. Cullen. He stands from his chair and smiles.

"Alice, who have we here?" Mr. Cullen says quietly and I stick out my hand again.

"I'm Isabella Swan, Mr. Cullen." He takes my hand and shakes it.

"Bella sprained her ankle when she got lost in the woods, and I thought you might want to check it out." Alice says before placing me on the table.

"Is that so, Bella?" Mr. Cullen says before taking my shoe off.

"Yup! Timmy left me behind and I tried to walk home, but I got lost and I tripped on a log. Then Alice found me and brought me here!" I say and Mr. Cullen takes my sock off before moving my foot all kinds of ways. I try not to move or make noise, but it hurts and he looks up at me.

"When does it hurt?"

"When you move it like this, to the side." He moves back and puts my sock and shoe back on.

"Well, it's a little swollen and it's definitely sprained. You'll need to stay off of it as much as you can. No more running around in the woods." I frown but then look at Alice.

"Does this mean that Alice gets to carry me?" Mr. Cullen and Alice laugh and he nods.

"Yes, Alice can carry you around until your mother gets here."

"Yes! Come on Alice, you promised we'd go see everyone!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Alice says before picking me up again and putting me on her back. I wrap my hands around her neck and laugh.

"You say cats are better, but you are carrying me around like a horse!" Alice pokes me in the side before leaving the room. "Thanks Mr. Cullen!"

"Anytime, Bella."

XxXxXxXxXx

Alice takes me through the house, and I poke Mrs. Cullen as we go by and then up the stairs. We go to the end of the hall and stop in front of the door.

"Hey, Emmett, Rosalie, you guys there?" Alice asks and I bounce on her back ready to meet them. The door opens and a boy taller than anyone I have ever seen stands in the door. He has curly hair and yellow eyes. His arms are huge and he looks like he could beat a bear in a fight. His smile reminds me of Timmy's.

"Heya Tink." He looks at me and holds out his hand. "Heya squirt, how's it hanging?" I take his hand which looks like it eats mine and shake it.

"Hi. You're Emmett, right? You're really big. Have you ever fought a bear?" Emmett laughs and it's loud and seems to make the house shake, but it makes me smile.

"I am, the one and only. Thank you, that's what people tell me, and I have. Once or twice." He winks and looks at Alice. "How'd you come across this munchkin?"

"Hey, just because you're ginormous doesn't mean I'm small!" He looks at me his face blank before laughing again.

"Alright, squirt, whatcha doing here?"

"Could we come in, Emmett, she wants to meet everyone." Alice asks and Emmett smiles and steps out of the way.

"Sure thing, Rose might like her, who knows." Alice makes a face at him before stepping inside the room. I look around quickly before I see the blonde girl sitting on the bed. "Squirt, this is Rosalie, Rosalie this is… uhm, well."

"Bella. This is Bella." Alice says, grinning at the bear man. I look at Rosalie and she is watching me with the same yellow eyes that everyone else has. She doesn't look happy to see me and I tighten my hold on Alice, pushing against her. "Rose." Alice says her voice like mommy's when she is warning me not to do something. Not wanting to get her in trouble, I slide off of Alice's back, careful to stay off my foot like Mr. Cullen said, and move towards her. "Bella, you aren't supposed to be walking." Alice says, though her voice is high and her words are fast.

"Hi, Rosalie, I'm Isabella Swan, it's nice to meet you." I say, looking her in the eye with my hand out. She studies me a second before taking my hand gently. Behind me it sounds like Alice sighs, but I focus on Rosalie.

"Hi, Bella." I smile, happy that she has decided to be nice and sit on the bed with her. She moves away from me but I just scoot closer.

"You're really pretty. Do you like to wear makeup? I want to, but mommy says I have to be older." I say and reach for her hair that looks soft. Rosalie smiles at me and shrugs.

"Sometimes. So you got lost in the woods, huh?" I nod and continue playing with her hair.

"Yeah, I was really scared, but then Alice found me," I smile at Alice and she smiles back, "and told me all about you guys and now I'm here. Do you color your hair like mommy?" Rosalie laughs and pulls me in front of her.

"No, I don't. Does your mom know where you are?" She asks and starts to braid my hair.

"I think so, Mrs. Cullen said she was going to call Mrs. Holland and tell them I am here."

We all talk for a little while, Alice sits on the bed with me and Rosalie and Emmett sits on the floor. We talk about what they want to be when they grow up and stuff like that. I ask them about hide and seek when Mrs. Cullen tells us that she got ahold of mommy and that they would be here in a while.

"So, would you guys play hide and seek?" I ask and they all laugh.

"Sure, squirt, we'll play hide and seek next time." Emmett says and I jump into his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Thanks! It'll be so much fun!" I say and move back. "Alice, can we go see Jasper and Edward now?" Emmett looks at Alice and watches her.

"I don't know if you should, squirt, I mean, I don't know if they are back yet." Emmett says still looking at Alice.

"Yes they are! I heard the door downstairs!" I say and Emmett looks at me his smile not as big as before.

"They are here and it'll be fine. I'll make sure of it." Alice says her voice serious and I sit quietly looking between them. Alice looks at me and smiles, "well, what are we waiting for? You have two other people to meet before your mom gets here!" She stands from the bed and pulls me up onto her back. "Onward!"

We go back and into the living room where two boys, not as big as Emmett, are sitting and talking. They stop immediately and stare at us as soon as we get near. One boy has hair that sticks up funny and I can't help but giggle. It's a shiny brown color that reminds me of all daddy's bowling trophies. The other boy has long blonde hair and doesn't look friendly like Emmett. They both have yellow eyes.

"Jasper, Edward, this is Bella. She got lost in the woods and now we are just waiting for her mom to come and get her." Alice says, not letting me down. The brown haired boy looks at me for a moment before standing and making his way towards us.

"I'm Edward." I take his hand and smile.

"I'm Bella!" I look over at Jasper and wave. "Hi Jasper!" Jasper waves back and smiles though he looks like his tummy hurts. "Does your belly hurt?" Jasper looks at me his eyes wide.

"What?"

"You look like your belly hurts. You could try ginger ale, it makes me feel better." I say and Jasper smiles without the upset tummy look.

"Thank you, Bella, I might have some later." I smile and look at Alice, she looks back at me her eyes light. I reach up and touch her face. Timmy has bright blue eyes that are pretty, too, but Alice's are _yellow_.

"I wish I had eyes like you guys do. They are really pretty." Alice's smile goes away for a second but it comes back even if it is smaller.

"I think your eyes happen to be pretty, Bella." I shake my head.

"My eyes are just brown, like mud. I'd much rather have yellow eyes." Alice just shakes her head. I get ready to ask how I could get yellow eyes when the doorbell rings. Mrs. Cullen is there almost as soon as the door rings and opens it and Alice sets me down. My mother rushes in looking around frantically until she sees me, then she runs to me and picks me up, hugging me tightly. "Mommy, I can't breathe." I laugh and hug her back. She pulls away and wipes at her cheeks but I can see her crying. "Oh, mommy, I'm okay, Alice came and got me." Mommy looks up and around the room where the rest of Alice's family has appeared and looks at Alice.

"Alice?" When she nods, mommy pulls her into a hug that might even crush Emmett. "Oh thank you, Alice, I don't know what I would have done! When Timmy came home and said that he didn't know where Bella was," she stops and takes a deep breath, "thank you, so much for finding and taking care of my Bella." She pulls her in for another hug and Alice smiles at me and hugs her back.

"Of course, I'm glad I found her." Alice says smiling and mommy turns back to me and picks me up. Mr. Cullen steps forward and makes a coughing sound.

"Bella sprained her ankle when she tripped over a log. It's nothing too serious, but she needs to take it easy. If it seems to get worse feel free to give me a call at the hospital. Just tell them that you are one of Carlisle's patients." Mommy nods and turns to Mrs. Cullen.

"Again, thank you so much. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, no, there's no need. We're just happy to have helped. It was nice getting to know Bella, despite the circumstances." Mrs. Cullen says and mommy laughs her tired laugh. Mrs. Cullen seems to notice because she touches mommy's arm and asks, "you must be exhausted. Would you like to stay?"

"No, that's alright. Thank you though, you've done more than I could ever repay."

"Do you need directions getting home?"

"No, we'll be fine, thank you though. Come on Bella." Mommy says smiling and I wiggle in her arms.

"Mommy, can I say bye?" She looks surprised for a moment, but then lets me go.

"Sure, sweetie." I carefully make my way to Mrs. Cullen and she kneels down and gives me a hug.

"Thanks for the PB&J and milk. And for letting me stay until mommy got here." I say and she laughs.

"Of course, Bella, dear. You're very welcome. Maybe you'll be able to come and play sometime." I pull away and smile at mommy.

"Oh, yeah, mommy! This house would be really fun to play hide and go seek in, could I come and do that?" Mommy looks at Mrs. Cullen and then at me.

"I don't know sweetie, we leave to go back home in a few weeks. We'll see." I frown but step towards Alice, but I don't get far before she has scooped me up.

"Bye bye, Alice. Thank you for saving me. Even if we don't get to play, we'll be friends, right?" I whisper in her ear and she squeezes me.

"Of course, sweetheart. We'll always be friends." She says, her voice sounds scratchy though. I pull back and look her in the eyes.

"Promise?"

"I promise." I smile and hug her again.

"Come on, Bella, it's time to get you home and in bed, you've had a long day." Mommy says and Alice looks sad. I kiss her on the cheek.

"Don't be sad, I'll see you soon." Alice lets me go and mommy picks me up. I wave at Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Rosalie, and Mr. Cullen and they all wave back, Emmett and Rosalie with smiles. Mrs. Cullen moves over to Alice and pulls her into a part hug. Mommy heads out the door saying thanks once again, and I watch Alice until the door shuts.

I never went and played hide and go seek with them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Isabella Swan—10 years old**

"Mom, I'm fine, you can stop." I step back from my mom and smile.

"Oh I know, but last time you got lost and… I-I don't want that to happen again." I force myself not to roll my eyes.

"That was four years ago mom, I'll be fine. Besides Timmy knows where we're going and he won't leave me behind this time." I say shooting him a glare but he only sticks his tongue out. I look back at mom but she doesn't seem to have liked my joke. I step closer to her and wrap my arms around her in a hug. "We'll be fine mom, I promise." My mom just nods before releasing me.

"Okay, just be home before it even thinks about getting dark." I nod before grabbing Timmy's arm and pulling him out the door.

"Bye mom! Love you!" Timmy and I race each other across the yard and into the woods. I ignore the fence that had been put up since I was here last and climb over it. "Come on, Timmy!" Timmy only hesitates a moment before climbing after me. We run for a while until we reach a road and I look at Timmy.

"We can follow it, if you want, not many people drive on it." At my worried look he rolls his eyes. "You're such a girl, Bella, I know the way back using the road. We'll be fine." I punch him in the shoulder before stepping onto the pavement and following it. "Wait up!" Timmy yells before coming up next to me and shoving me. We walk a while before I remember that we leave in a few days to go home.

"I don't want to go home, Timmy." I say looking down and Timmy stays oddly silent. "All mom and dad do is fight and yell," I look at him and he tilts his head, "mom seems so much happier here. Without dad." I wipe my eyes and turn my head. "Dad seemed happy to know that we were taking a trip up here. I think it has something to do with the argument they had right before. There was a lot of yelling Timmy." I sniff and Timmy stays quiet for a moment before pushing me.

"Hey, since you're still here, let me show you this awesome house! Mom says it's for sale, I wanted her to buy it but she said no. It would make for the best hide and seek house ever!" He takes off and I race after him, thoughts of going home out of my mind.

We run for a long time, until my legs start to burn and I gasp for air. "Timmy. Wait. I'm tired, can we walk?" Timmy skids to a stop and looks back at me.

"Bella, it's only a little bit further. Don't be such a girl, come on!" I yell at him but run after him. He laughs and takes off again. I am almost caught up with him when he stops and I nearly run into him. "Timmy, you can't just stop." I huff and he turns towards me, smiling.

"That's the house! Wouldn't it be awesome?" I turn and stare at the house. Dad called the houses back home this size mansions and said only rich people would buy a house that they don't use ninety percent of.

I take a closer look at the house and something about it seems familiar. I nudge Timmy and point. "Have we been here before?"

"Here?" He laughs. "No, this place belongs to some doctor and his family. Mom says they've lived here a while but just up and decided to move. The hospital tried to get him to stay but he wouldn't." He turns and looks at me, eyebrows scrunched together, "besides what does it matter, wouldn't be awesome to play in?"

"Yeah, Timmy, it would be." I say but I don't really pay attention, something about the house is familiar but I can't place it. Timmy pokes me in the face pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Let's go!" He jogs towards the house and I grab his arm, pulling him back.

"We can't! They're _moving_ Timmy, they aren't gone."

"Chris at school told me that he never sees anyone in there and he goes by this place all the time."

"Timmy, it's trespassing! We'll get arrested."

"Says who?"

"My dad, you know he's a cop."

"Well, you're dad isn't here, so let's go." He runs towards the house and I look around before following him. I get inside the house, but I can't see him.

"Timmy!" I call out quietly, nervous at being caught any moment. "Timmy, we're gonna get in trouble come on!"

"It's called hide and seek, Bella, I hide, you come and find me. It's not hard." I hear Timmy say, but it's muffled and comes from the upstairs. "Unless you don't think you can win." I stomp my foot and make my way upstairs.

"Fine, I'll play, but when I find you we leave!" I don't get a response so I head upstairs. I pass by the first few rooms and head into the furthest one. I open the door and look around, but I don't hear or see anything so I turn and leave, making sure to close the door behind me.

I head back the way I came and am about to enter one room, when I notice that the door across from it is slightly open. I creep up and open the door as quietly as possible. At first nothing looks out of place, but then I see that the blanket on the bed has been pulled down so that it touches the floor. I get down on all fours and crawl to the end of the bed. I lift up the blanket slightly and I can see Timmy's shoes. I pull up the blanket all the way and yell, "Hah! I found you!" Timmy groans and crawls out from under the bed.

"You found me, now I gotta count. Go hide!" I shake my head and grab his hand, pulling him for the door.

"No, I said I would only play if you promised to leave after I found you. We have to go; someone is going to catch us." I say quickly moving downstairs.

"Fine, fine we can leave, but I don't want to go home yet. Can we least play outside?"

"As long as we aren't in their house. I don't want to get in trouble, Timmy."

"Whatever, fine. You're so boring, Bella."

"Look who is still playing with me." I say and Timmy just shoves me before running out the back door.

We wander around the woods for a while before I tell Timmy that I'm getting hungry.

"Well, we should be getting back anyways; it's going to start to get dark soon." He says looking around before turning and heading some direction.

"You do know how to get back, right?" He rolls his eyes before nodding and jogging. I follow him while looking around nervously, I don't like being outside when it's dark. We walk for a while, the sky noticeably getting darker, a mix of orange red and purple, and I am just about to say something when we reach the road.

"See, I told you I knew where I was going. It'll only be a little bit before we reach the house. We can either cut through the woods, or follow the road. It'll be faster to go through, though." I glance back up at the sky and then into the woods which have also gotten darker.

"Let's just go around, Timmy, we'll reach your house before dark." Timmy looks like he wants to protest but keeps his mouth shut. We walk shoulder to shoulder along the road for a while, longer than we should've been, when I stop and mention it.

"It's fine, we just were a little further down the road than I thought." He pauses and looks around. "Ah! See, there's the sign!" I glance at the sign and groan.

"Timmy, that says we're two miles from town!"

"I know, I know, we aren't going that far. Not too much further the road will split and we take the left split. Then we just follow it until we get home." I glance back up at the sky which only has a little bit of red left at the edges, making everything, especially the woods, seem dark and scary. "Bella," Timmy says and I turn to face him, "it'll only be a little while. We'll be home soon." I nod and we start to walk when something snaps on the opposite side of the road. I freeze and grab Timmy's arm.

"Timmy, did you hear that?" I ask and Timmy steps closer.

"It's probably just a raccoon or something." Timmy says calmly, but with how hard he is gripping my hand, I don't think he is. The snap happens again and we both take a step backwards. "Bella, we need to go home."

"I thought you said it was just a raccoon?"

"I don't know what it is. Better safe than sorry, could be a bear." A picture flashes in my mind of a big man, with huge arms.

' _Have you ever fought a bear?'_

_The man laughs 'Once or twice.'_

Timmy shakes me and tugs my arm, "Bella, we have to go, now." I hear the snapping sound again, this time closer and am about to turn and run when a deer jumps out of the brush and sprints past us, not giving us a second look. Timmy laughs, though he seems nervous, "see, it was just a deer."

"Aren't deer supposed to be afraid of people?" I ask.

"Yeah, so?"

"That one didn't even look at us as it went by." Timmy looks at me and shrugs.

"So it had somewhere to be, no big—"he's cut off when I see a shadow where the deer had jumped out. He looks and is soon pulling me with him into the woods. "Bella, run!" I follow him into the woods, looking behind me to see if we're being followed and scream again when I see the shadow right behind us.

We run as fast as we can through the woods yelling for help. My legs and chest are burning and I stumble. Timmy stops and runs back to help me up. He starts to run when I stop him.

"I don't see anything, do you?" Timmy shakes his head, sucking in big gulps of air, hands on his knees. "Do you think we lost it?" Timmy looks around before focusing back on me.

"Ah man!" I jump, startled at his sudden shout, and glare at him. He points at my arm and I look down. "My mom and your mom are going to kill me." I have a cut running along my arm that is bleeding.

"It's not bad. I'll tell them it's my fault no worries." Timmy looks unconvinced but before he can say anything he grabs my arm and pulls me forward. I look behind me and see the same shadow as before.

"We have to move, but be quiet." Timmy whispers and we move slowly away, watching the shadow the entire time as it lumbers around snorting into the dirt. Not paying attention to where I'm stepping, I lose my balance and fall, landing on the ground with a grunt and snapping a twig. The shadow jerks its head up and growls in our direction, before running at us.

Timmy quickly picks me up and we sprint away from what I'm now sure is a bear. We run, but I can hear the bear not far behind us, and as hard as I try to keep up with him, all the running from earlier has me falling behind.

Timmy looks back and slows down but I shake my head and shout in between breaths, "No! Run, just go and get help!" He still slows down, so I shove him. "Go!" Timmy looks back one more time before running ahead of me as fast as he can.

I can feel the bear behind me now, his steps causing the ground to shake, and I can hear his grunts and roars getting closer. Making a decision, I turn so that I am no longer running with Timmy, but away from him. I shout and scream trying to get the bear's attention and it seems to work and the bear is following me. I only make it a little further before my legs give out and I stumble to the ground. I flip over and see the bear only a few feet away and quickly coming closer. I scream and shut my eyes, waiting for the bear to come and eat me, but it never happens. Instead I hear a loud crack and the bear roars before a snap and dead silence. I open my eyes and see the bear lying only a few feet away from me, not moving. I scream again and crawl away as fast as I can when the bear moves, but it isn't the bear, something, something way smaller, moves away from the bear and towards me. I try and get to my feet and run, but something cold and strong wraps around my waist and holds me still.

"Shhh, Bella, you're fine now. You're safe." That voice. It's familiar and it causes me to stop struggling and turn around. I look up and gold eyes stare back at me full of concern and worry. "Are you okay?"

' _Bella, I'm fine.'_

' _Pinkie promise?' the girl laughs_

' _Pinkie promise.'_

"Bella? Bella, what's wrong, are you okay?" The girl in front of me asks and I shake my head to clear it. She has the same voice as the girl in my memory and the same eyes.

"Alice?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Isabella Swan—10 years old**

"Alice?" I ask again and the woman in front of me startles, her grip around my waist loosens slightly.

More memories pour into my mind. Wanting to play hide and seek, getting lost in the woods and _Alice_ finding me. Her brothers and sister.

"What are you doing here?" I ask and look behind her to see the bear still laying there. "Is the bear dead? Did you _kill_ it? How?" I ask, pulling away from her and pulling my— _her_ jacket closer to my body. She steps towards me before stopping and taking two steps back.

"I'm here because I heard screaming. And yes, it's dead. I shot it." She says crossing her arms. I look around her, looking for her gun but I don't see one. I open my mouth but snapping branches cause me to scream and jump into Alice's arms. I feel her catch me and lift me off of the ground.

"Shhh, it's okay, Bella, you're safe now," Alice whispers in my ear and the surprise of seeing Alice again wears off and everything from being chased by a bear and nearly getting eaten hit me and I start to cry. "Bella, sweetheart, it's okay. You're alright, everything is okay." She pulls me closer and I bury my head in her neck.

"I-I was s-so scared, Alice! I thought it was going to eat me. I could feel it behind me." I sob and I feel her run her fingers through my hair and rocking me gently.

"You're safe now. It can't get you anymore." I pick my head up and wipe my tears away.

"You saved me. Again, Alice, how are you always there?" I ask and Alice just shrugs.

"My house isn't too far away, Bella. I just happened to be in the neighborhood," she glances away and her eyes look wet, "I'm just glad I was here this time." She brings me to her and hugs me tightly. "I'm so glad I was here, I almost wasn't."

"Alice?" I ask and she pulls away and laughs softly.

"I might have saved you, Bella, but you saved Timmy." I blush and look away as Alice sets me down.

"He's my friend. Besides, he's a lot faster than me, the bear wouldn't have gotten him." Alice hums and takes my hand.

"Maybe, but what you did was very brave." I look up at her and she smiles at me.

"Yeah?" She nods and I smile. Happiness and relief from seeing her make me wrap my arms around her waist and hug her tight. "I missed you, Alice." She pauses for a while before returning my hug.

"I missed you, too, sweetheart. I missed you, too."

I pull away and look up into her face. She looks exactly like I remember. Pale skin, golden eyes, pretty smile. It's been four years and she looks exactly the same. Timmy doesn't look the same, neither does mom or me. She shouldn't.

"Alice—" howling and shouts cut off my question. Beams of light jump from tree to tree.

"BELLA?!" I hear my mother's voice over all the shouting and barking and I pull free from Alice and run to her, tears pouring down my face again.

I slam into her and she lifts me from the ground, crushing me against her. I bury my face into her neck and make no effort to stop crying. I can hear her whispering in my ear, but I don't understand so I just snuggle closer.

"Shh, Bella, it's alright sweetie, you're alright." I hear her say and her voice sounds muffled and choked like she has something in her throat. She pulls me away from her shoulder and tucks my hair behind my ear. "Timmy came home and told us that you were being chased! By a bear! Did you escape, what happened?" I struggle against her grasp until she lets me down.

"No, I was running and I could hear it behind me. It nearly got me but Alice!" I turn around to find her but she's nowhere to be found. "Alice?" I call out but there's no answer. I turn back to my mom and tug her hand. "Alice was here! I was running and she came out of nowhere, she says she shot the bear, but I don't—" I stop when I can't find the bear either. It wasn't laying on the ground where it was, I couldn't find it anywhere. "Mom, I don't know…" before I can say anything else she sweeps me up into another hug.

"Bella, honey, I don't know who Alice is but it doesn't matter, you're safe and that bear seems to have wandered off. Let's go home, alright? Get you cleaned up and into bed, you've had another long day." I want to stomp my feet and tell her that Alice is the girl that saved me before, and who killed the bear….but…. there wasn't a bear around…no sign of it anywhere. Maybe I imagined the whole thing…

Alice's POV

I stop behind a tree far enough out of view of the humans but close enough to easily hear them. Emmett stops running and turns back towards me.

"Tink, we gotta go." He says, shifting the weight of the dead bear so that it's less awkward to carry. "You shouldn't have let her see you, and we sure as hell can't let them see us. Let's go."

"Go ahead, Emmett, I'll be along shortly," I whisper, my eyes not leaving Bella and her mother.

"Tink…" Emmett says softly and I shove down my irritation at the pitying tone in his voice.

"Go, Emmett, we'll be leaving soon. Don't want to make Rosalie mad." I hear him sigh before he's gone. My focus shifts entirely to Bella being held in her mother's arms and for a moment, my chest aches and I can still feel her in my arms.

" _A bear! Did you escape, what happened?"_ I cringe inwardly at her mother's questioning. Emmett was right, I shouldn't have let her see me, explaining what happened could bring some unwanted attention.

" _It nearly got me but Alice!"_ I see her whip around and I know she's looking for me. _"Alice was here! I was running and she came out of nowhere, she says she shot the bear, but I don't—"_ she steps forward to where the bear had died before Emmett had taken it. I hear her mother dismiss the idea that someone had come to save her daughter and I don't miss the look of concern and critical eye she runs over her daughter. She takes Bella's hand and they head back towards town and I sigh in relief, both at the lack of questioning and that Bella is safe again.

I smile and silently turn to run back to the house when I hear whispered words so quiet I thought I had imagined them but they shatter my dead heart into a million pieces _"Maybe I imagined the whole thing."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Bella Swan—15 Years Old**

"Mom," I whine and I know I'm whining but I don't care, "why are we here?"

"Because, Bella, Phil was nice enough to let us use his cabin and I'm not passing up a vacation in the great Canadian wilderness." I snort and roll my eyes.

"Right, because you are such an outdoors type of person, mom."

"Hey, a vacation is a vacation, and we both could use one, you know that. Come on, Bella, just relax and try to forget about things." I sigh and move to look at the rest of the cabin. Forget the fact that my mom and dad were now officially divorced, yeah, right. And that we were staying in Phil's cabin…not that he has the hots for my mom, no, not at all.

"Right," I say curtly before opening the screen door and heading outside.

Had to hand it to Mr. Baseball, he had an eye for scenery. The small cabin is positioned not too far from a sparkling blue lake that has the perfect mirroring image of the trees and mountains beyond it. I grunt in dissatisfaction and stomp down the steps.

Mom could pretend that everything is fine, but I'm not going to. Sure, mom and dad had been fighting to the point of the neighbors knocking on our door to see if everything was alright, but it didn't mean that they had to split up. Okay, so mom and dad were both miserable, anyone could see it but isn't marriage till death do you part?

I groan again and flop down to the ground, on a hill no more than twenty feet away from the water's edge. I know I'm being selfish. I could see the relief in both my parents' eyes when the paperwork came through and it was official, but I wanted to live in my untouched perfect little world a little longer. It was times like this where I wished I could be little again and bring my imaginary friends back. When the fighting got really bad between mom and dad I used to imagine what it would have been like living with my imaginary family with the strange yellow eyes. Five siblings and two loving parents that never fought. I laugh at myself and climb to my feet, I hadn't thought about them in a while.

I move to the pebbly edge and remove my shoes before sticking my toes in the water. It's chilly but crystal clear and surprisingly refreshing. I roll my pant legs up and wade further in, letting the cold distract me from my thoughts.

I hadn't told mom, but Alice and her family never really left me. When I talked about them, mom would nod and smile, but I could see that she was concerned. When she was still with dad, she had talked about sending me to a counselor to see if it was normal, but dad had convinced her that it was just "a part of growing up, and she's always had a wild imagination, Renee, let the girl be". So I stopped telling anyone about Alice. Especially how I would dream about her and her family. Yellow eyes, playing hide and seek, how cold they were. More frequently I would have nightmares, well it was always one nightmare, the same one over and over. It was me sprinting through pitch blackness endlessly with something, I could never see what it was, chasing me, it's breath on my neck, lumbering strides shaking the non-existent ground beneath me. Sometimes the creature would catch me and before the darkness would consume me I'd wake up, other times Alice would come out of nowhere and defeat the creature. When she would appear I'd always try and talk to her, but when I go to speak no words come out and she vanishes into the darkness. Eventually, I had just come to accept that she and her family were just people I had made up when I was younger.

The nightmares had stopped recently and I was relieved, maybe now I could stop having imaginary people saving my life. I push myself off of the ground and jog inside having decided that I am going to take a swim, something to clear my head.

I offer a quick explanation to mom before rifling through my suitcase and finding my bathing suit. I throw it on and hurry back down to the lake, tossing back a quick "I will" to mom's "be careful".

I lay my towel down on the grass and make my way to the water. I wade in without hesitation, inhaling sharply at the cold water lapping at my skin. Taking a deep breath, I dunk my head underwater. I swim out some ways, keeping relatively close to shore alternating between diving under the water and swimming further out. After a while, I flip over so that I'm floating on my back and watch the clouds pass by overhead.

I float for a few minutes before I bump into something. Opening my eyes and looking over, I see that I have drifted closer to shore but have reached a little outcropping of rocks that jut out past the shore and relatively far into the lake.

I go to push off of them and make my way back to the cabin, but my foot doesn't hit rock, it just pushes through the water. I dunk under the water again and open my eyes. There is a large opening in the rocks, one that I could easily fit through.

I glance back towards the house, debating whether or not to explore my new discovery. I knew it could be dangerous, but I didn't want to go back just yet. Taking a deep breath, I dunk underwater and head through the opening. I can still see due to it being light out and the water being so clear, but I can't travel very far before it starts to get too dark. I quickly turn around and head out of the underwater cave. I breach the surface and swim towards shore.

I needed a flashlight and luckily I had a waterproof one that mom had given me for my birthday when I was in my scuba phase. I go into the house ignoring mom's yells about me getting water everywhere, grab the flashlight, and run back outside. I dive into the water and swim back towards the outcropping of rocks. I go underwater and find the entrance to the cave again. Sticking my head above water only long enough to grab some air, I swim back in.

I turn my flashlight on and glance around the cave. It's surprisingly big and deep, there is still plenty of cave for me to explore. I turn the light up and see that there is a space between the surface of the water and the roof of the cave. I swim upwards and take another breath.

I explore the cave staying close to the surface until I reach a little ledge that is big enough for me to sit on. The roof of the cave slants sharply down after the ledge and I won't have a supply of air afterward. I pull myself up and debate my options.

I could turn back, explore the section of the cave that I could with the air I had, or go further in. There could be another cavern in the cave, but I couldn't know for sure. If anything, I could swim for a little bit and if nothing came from it, just come back…there wasn't much danger in that. Having decided, I slide back into the water.

I flick my flashlight back on and dive into the water. I have to go pretty far down before I can continue moving through the cave, but I don't worry about it. I continue swimming a few feet before the tunnel becomes narrow due to some rocks. There's a hole at the top that I can fit through more than likely so I swim towards that.

The hole is smaller than I had originally thought, but I can still squeeze through it. Briefly, I consider turning back around but I push the thought away and continue swimming. My lungs are beginning to burn and I shine the light above me. I can see the roof of the cave so I swim upwards hoping that there is a gap between the water and the roof.

I reach the top but there isn't any air. The roof angles upwards slightly, so I follow it pushing down the panic I can feel pressing against my chest. The worst thing you could do, according to my scuba instructor for all of one session, is panic. Still, I follow the roof and still there's no air. I turn around and swim as fast as I can for the hole in the rocks.

I swam further than I thought because now the rocks are almost out of sight. I kick and swim frantically towards them, my chest burning. I reach the opening and go through but I'm having a hard time getting through, my hips are stuck. I'm having a full out panic attack at this point and I'm pushing as hard as I can against the rocks trying to get free. I cough and water enters my lungs, the shocking cold and sudden onslaught of water make me cough and inhale more water. My vision starts to go black and fuzzy. I close my eyes and try one more time to free myself, I can't leave my mom like this. My vision is almost all black when I see movement out of the corner of my eye and the last thing that runs through my mind is that I wish Alice was here.


	6. Chapter 6

 

**Bella--15 Years Old**

**Alice's POV**

I watch Bella stomp out of her house and sigh. I can hear her mother muttering to herself in the house. She pauses at the railing and sighs again. She looks up and scans the area around her, but I know she doesn't see me so I don't worry. The slight rustling to my left causes me to tilt my head and a voice soon cuts the silence.

"Alice, really?" Rosalie says and I can hear the disappointed look that she is wearing. "Come on, we are supposed to be hunting and Carlisle told you to stay away."

"Hush, we'll go hunting, I just wanted to make sure they made it okay." I hear Rosalie scoff and I know she is rolling her eyes.

"Like you didn't see them arriving safely or anything. Don't try to pull that one on me," she sighs again, "fine, whatever, stay with your little human mate if you must but I'm thirsty. Don't come crying to me if you get hungry later." With that, she leaves.

I can understand her frustration and I felt kinda bad. Ever since I saw the vision that involved Bella coming to Canada, and close to us even, I couldn't stop talking about it. I knew it was becoming annoying but I couldn't help it, I was excited. She was my mate, I, and everyone else, knew it. It was the only reason I was even allowed to be anywhere near her. Granted, I'm not supposed to let her see me this time, Carlisle's orders. "She's too old now, Alice, she'll remember. We can't expose ourselves." Still, despite what he said being the truth, I just had to see her.

I turn my focus back to Bella only to see that she has changed into a swim suit and is heading towards the water's edge. Even though she is only fifteen, she is beautiful. I can see what she will look like when she is an adult and I hope that I get to see her in person. She dunks underwater and comes back up smiling, causing my own smile to pull at my lips. I had missed her these past few years.

She swims for a little while, and I continue to watch, content seeing her happy and relaxed. She floats towards some rocks but suddenly slips underwater. Concern washes through my system and I hop down from the tree I had been perched on, ready to save her when her head pops up above water and she starts swimming quickly for shore. Concerned that something has happened, I watch her closely, but when she jogs into her house and seems fine, I relax again.

She quickly returns with what seems to be a flashlight in hand and swims back out towards the rocks. This time she dives underwater and doesn't return to the surface. Panic grips my chest and I sprint out of the woods and into the water in the blink of an eye. I swim to the group of rocks and dive, looking desperately for Bella. It takes me a moment, but I see that the group of rocks is actually an underwater cave. The panic lessens but still concerned, I swim into the cave's opening.

Even in the water, I can hear Bella not too far ahead of me and I can see the beam of light from her flashlight. I choose to stay out of sight and simply decide to follow her to make sure that she is okay. She stays towards the surface of the water so I dive deeper but still within easy swimming distance.

She swims a little further until she reaches a ledge that sits just above the water's surface. I remain underwater waiting for her to decide what to do. In the meantime, I take in my surroundings but even with my superior vision, I can't see much in the darkness. All I can tell is where the water's surface is, where the ledge is, and that the cave continues further down. Not too long after that, Bella slips into the water and swims downward towards the continued tunnel of the cave.

I can see more thanks to her flashlight and the cave does continue but I can see where it begins to narrow and that there is a blockage further up ahead. I stop swimming, thinking Bella will turn back around and wait. Instead, she keeps swimming and squeezes through the hole. Concern causes my stomach to drop and I quickly swim towards the opening that Bella just went through. I peer through and see her heading towards the roof of the cave again. My muscles start to relax until I see that she isn't breaking the water's surface. No, she is moving along the top of the cave. Her movements become more and more frantic and that's when I realize that there isn't a pocket of air for her to catch her breath. I try to scramble through the hole, but I don't fit. I could pull the rocks apart easily but I don't want to cause a cave in and risk injuring Bella.

Much to my relief, Bella turns around and starts swimming back towards me. I move out of the opening and back out of sight, waiting for her to pass, but she doesn't. I swim upwards to find her struggling to move. She is caught in between the rocks. I register the panic on her face and I can't tell if it's the water or her face that is actually turning blue. Panic swells within me but a wave of protectiveness squashes it and I swim towards her. I see her cough, little bubbles escaping her mouth and when she does it again, I know that she has swallowed some water. Swimming even faster I reach her just as her eyes close and her body goes limp.


	7. Chapter 7

**Bella Swan—15 Years Old**

I roll onto my side not quite sure what is going on but I immediately throw up. I wipe my chin and look around the cave only to see something swim deeper into the water and away from me. I feel my stomach roll and I throw up more water, my focus on the thing swimming away broken. I cough when I'm finished and get some water to swish around and rinse the taste from my tongue. I sit up fully, my head pounding and my throat sore. I reach a hand up to rub my head and it's shaking. I manage to move so that I am leaning against the wall of the cave, my head tucked between my knees.

I want to get back to the cabin, but I'm not sure if I can make the swim. I give myself a few more minutes before I slip back into the water, pushing down the fear that bubbles up when the water covers more and more of my body. I cling to the rock ledge, my breathing hard until I force myself to let go and push away from the rock. I wouldn't have to dive very far to get to the entrance and after that, it was a short swim to the lake's surface. I could do this.

Taking a deep breath, I dip my head underwater but almost immediately I lose my nerve and come back above water, my breaths fast and shallow. As a compromise with myself, I decide to just swim above water towards the entrance until I can't anymore and then I'll dive down. Gathering my courage and flashlight, I head towards the entrance.

I flick my flashlight off as I get nearer because the sun from outside is enough for me to see. Swallowing against the lump in my throat, I dive underwater and quickly make my way to the outside. I come up outside of the cave and gasp for air, even though I had much longer dives than that before. I blink rapidly against the bright sun and raise a hand to shield my eyes.

Even though I feel completely drained and like something major has just happened, everything outside of the cave is the same. The cabin is in the same place, the lake is undisturbed, and all is relatively quiet. Heaving a sigh, I opt to get out of the water and walk around the lake to the cabin rather than swimming.

Pulling myself out is harder than I had originally thought it would be and my legs shake under my weight for a moment before holding me steady. I trudge along the shore, grateful that my stuff isn't too far away and that the cabin is located almost on the lake's edge. I grab my things and make my way towards the house, my feet dragging as I find myself exhausted. I open the door to the cabin and walk in, not seeing mom anywhere and not willing to explain my lack of energy I head straight towards my room, calling out that I would be taking a nap. A cheery, "okay dear, did you have a good swim?" follows me into my room and instead of responding I shut my door, peel my suit off, throw on a large t-shirt and underwear, and fall into bed.

I shut my eyes against my headache and the light coming from my window and try to remember what happened. I remember going through the hole in the rocks thinking that there might be another pocket of air. There wasn't any and I turned back, but by the time I tried swimming back through the hole, I was almost completely out of air and I began to panic. I groan at myself and roll onto my stomach. I got caught in the rocks because I began to panic and couldn't take the time to free myself. I remember beginning to lose consciousness and inhaling water. What I couldn't remember was getting to the ledge. I should have drowned being caught on the rocks, or at the very least, have woken up floating in the water, not on the ledge.

That's when I remember seeing movement before I lost consciousness and then again after I had been throwing up. Something or someone had saved me…again. I sigh and pull the blankets around me, my eyes getting heavy. The funny thing about whatever saved me is that I remember seeing its eyes. They were yellow, just like Alice's had been. I chuckle to myself and blame the delusion of my imaginary friend saving me on the fact that I had breathed in so much water. Alice couldn't have saved me because she wasn't real.

I didn't have nightmares that night. Instead, I dreamt about large mansions and playing hide and seek with a family of seven. All with cold skin and warm golden eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written today muwahahah!!!!
> 
> Do I continue this?

**Bella Swan—18 Years Old**

I look around the parking lot and pull my worn jacket around me even tighter. It's chilly today and it's supposed to rain, shocking. Kids are grouped together, some furiously copying their friend's homework, others standing around chatting and laughing before classes start. I sigh, ducking my head and making for the entrance, avoiding the questioning looks and whispers. Price of living in Forks, I guess. Town isn't big enough to let a new student slide by without too much fuss.

I make it in the door and sigh in relief at the lack of people. I pull out my schedule and map and double check where I am supposed to go. Glancing around, I see room markers and head towards what has been assigned as the calculus class. I walk in and go to take a seat when I notice the beakers and hot plates sitting on lab tables.

"You look mildly lost." I turn around, tugging my jacket tighter, and look at the speaker. A blonde boy with blue eyes. "I'm Mike and you must be new."

"That obvious, and I'm Bella." I ask and he laughs, carelessly throwing an arm over my shoulder and taking my class list from my hand.

"Maybe not, but here everyone knows everyone, and I, unfortunately, don't have the pleasure of knowing you" He offers me what, I'm sure, is supposed to be a charming smile and starts leading me out of the room. "Anyway, this was the old math class, but that has been moved down the hall. Glad I caught you." I shrug out from under his arm and reach for my paper.

"Thank you, but I don't want to make you late, if you could just tell me where the room is I'm sure I can find it." Mike looks disappointed and opens his mouth but is interrupted.

"It's fine, Mike, I'll take her. I'm headed that way anyway." A taller girl with brown hair steps up beside me and gently nudges Mike back towards the other room. After he turns, she faces me. "Forgive him, he's sweet and a nice guy, but he doesn't know how much is too much. Come on, calculus is this way, I'm Angela by the way." I offer Angela a genuine smile as she leads me to the class room, quietly talking and telling me where my other classes are. When we reach the room, she offers me a wave before heading across the hall.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I have a few minutes until classes begin so I take a moment to look around the room. Most of the seats are filled, with most of the vacant ones surrounding a blonde kid who looks painfully bored. Really, though, I'm mildly concerned because his jaw is clenched and his face is screwed up into a scowl. I move to the empty seat furthest from him but still watch him. It's strange because he doesn't move. At all. He doesn't even appear to be breathing.

He startles me and I jump when he visibly flinches and seems to tense even more when two very loud girls walk in and noisily set their stuff down at desks at the front of the room. His pale hands are clenched into fists and I'm pretty sure I can hear his teeth grinding from here. Against my better judgement, I quietly get up and move towards the guy, my movements slow. I stop when I reach the desk next to his and I gently clear my throat.

"Uhm… are you alright?" I flinch when his head snaps in my direction. He looks like he's in even more pain now, his brows are pulled together, there are dark circles under his oddly dark eyes. "I have some ibuprofen in my bag if you need some." I offer awkwardly and he watches me for a minute before he makes himself relax.

"I'm fine, thank you, just a migraine. I took something earlier, just waiting for it to kick in." I nod and turn back to my seat when he speaks up again, "but thank you, Bella, it's nice of you to offer." I look at him, wondering how he knew my name but I just offer a quiet "you're welcome" and sit down.

I spend the rest of the class trying to get a glimpse of the blonde guy all while trying not to catch his eye since he spent most of the period looking in my direction. When the bell rings, the blonde kid is the first one up and out of the room, almost before the bell is done ringing. I gather my things and make my way to where Angela said my next class was. Thankfully, the day leading up to lunch was uneventful and I was grateful to have Angela in my class that was right before lunch so that we could go together.

We grab our lunches and head to a table that has a few people sitting at it already with the conversation being dominated by the two loud girls that were in my math class. Lauren and Jessica, Angela explained with a roll of her eyes.

"Left immediately after first period. And Rosalie and Emmett went with him." Jessica says.

"I know! It's weird for them to leave in the middle of the school day, they haven't—" Lauren stops talking when she sees me. "Bella! You sat next to him today, did he say anything to you?" She asks excitedly and Jessica looks at me with great interest.

"Uhm…who?" Jessica and Lauren both scoff and roll their eyes, but it's Jessica who speaks up this time.

"Uh, Jasper, duh. The cutie you sat next to in calc with the blonde hair and pained artist look." Her voice turns dreamy at the end and I cover a smile.

"Just said he had a migraine is all." Jessica and Lauren turn to each other and start whispering quickly and I hear Angela sigh beside me.

"Ignore them. They both are in love with that entire family and any news they get on them, especially the brothers, makes them go even more brainless." I laugh at Angela's words and turn my very typical school lunch. "It is odd that he spoke to you though, he doesn't speak to anyone that he's not related to." I glance up at her and raise a brow, chewing my sandwich questioningly at her. "Jasper is probably the most reserved out of the group which is an impressive title. His sister, Rosalie, is the only one that really competes with him on that and she can be a little…standoffish at times." I continue chewing and think about Jasper. He and the names I heard sound familiar, but no matter how hard I try to think of why, I can't figure it out. But something is familiar about them and it keeps prodding my brain.

"He was just answering my question, I simply asked him if he was alright." I shrug and take another bite of my sandwich. Angela concedes and turns to her own lunch, once again letting Jessica and Lauren lead the table's conversation.

XxXxXxXxXx

The rest of the day passes quickly enough, but by the end I'm ready to head home to a quiet night, even if it's with Charlie. Angela, Mike, and I walk out together and they offer me a wave before heading to their own cars. I climb into my old truck and sigh in relief at the quiet that closing the door brings. Angela and Mike were nice enough, Angela especially, but I was ready for some time alone. I start up my truck and glare at the rain coming down, hard, on my windshield. The sun would be what I would miss most about Arizona… well that, and my mom.

I pull out of the parking lot and onto the road. I turn my windshield wipers on high as the rain beats down harder making seeing nearly impossible. I'm maybe fifteen minutes from my house when the rain starts to lighten up, excited to be home, I speed up. A flash of movement catches my eye and I look out my passenger window just in time to see a buck try to cross the road. With a shout, I slam on my brakes and jerk the wheel. I hear the tires squeal and I can feel it when the truck begins to flip and barrel roll.

The hood of the car slams into the ground and glass goes flying. The truck rolls a few more times before it stops abruptly, my body slamming into the car door. My vision is blurry and I try to grasp my surroundings. The truck is upside-down and off of the road, in the woods if the greenery sticking through the windows and where the windshield used to be are any indication. I try to move and my entire body protests, my left arm screaming the most at me. I look down and see it pinned between the door and the seat.

I try to unhook my seatbelt but it won't come undone. I feel wetness dripping down my side but I don't know if it is from the rain or from the crash. I feel myself start to panic so I call out for help. I call for a few minutes before my vision begins to swim. I feel tears gathering in my eyes and I can't help the sob that leaves my chest. I am alone and hurt and I had no idea if someone would find me soon.

My head starts to throb even more, my vision going black when I hear someone yelling.

"Bella? Bella!" I open my eyes and call out but my head hurts. "Edward! Fuck, Edward, she's here." I close my eyes and feel someone slide next to the car. "She's pinned, we can't just flip it. We _have_ to get her out of here. Call Carlisle and Esme, we have to get her to the hospital." I feel something cold against my cheek and I manage to open my eyes. My vision is still blurry and I can feel myself losing consciousness but I know who I'm looking at. "Don't worry, sweetheart, everything is going to be okay. You're okay."

"Hey, Alice."


	9. Chapter 9

**Bella Swan—18 Years Old**

_‘Yes, it’s dead. I shot it.’_

_‘I just happened to be in the neighborhood’_

_‘Of course, sweetheart. We'll always be friends.’_

Snippets of conversation and flashes of yellow eyes come to me in rapid succession. Always the same voice always the same eyes.

_‘Bella! Bella, you’re okay, you’re going to be fine.’ the voice is shaking and sounds watery, I open my eyes and see that Alice is still there. Tears are gathered in her golden eyes as she reaches out and touches my face, her hand icy. ‘Bella, come on you have to stay awake.’_

_‘My head hurts Alice, so does my arm.’_

_‘I know sweetheart, I know, but I need you to stay awake and talk to me.’ I smile at her words and close my eyes in spite of them, I’m tired._

_‘I knew you were real. For a while I thought I had made you guys up. Was that you at the lake?’_

_‘Bella I—’ I interrupt her, opening my eyes and looking at her the best I can with my vision swimming and head pounding._

_‘Was it you?’ She studies me a moment before her eyes leave my face and her head drops slightly._

_‘Yes.’_

_‘You left me.’ I close my eyes and I can feel a weight pressing down on my head and chest, making my hearing muffled. ‘You left me.’ It’s silent for a moment before Alice responds, her voice distant._

_‘Never again, sweetheart, I’m not leaving you ever again.’_

XxXxXxXxXx

 

Steady beeping causes me to open my eyes, the bright fluorescent lights of the room, causing me to squint and blink. I tilt my head up to look around the room and see that I am in a hospital bed. The beeping coming from the heart monitor to my left. To my right are two windows with the curtains closed and a chair right next to my bed.

I move to sit up and find myself attached to an IV machine. My head still heavy, I reach up only to notice that my left arm is in a cast. I run my fingers through my hair and come across a bandage covering my left temple. I check the rest of my body for injuries and find my ribs bound. Unsticking my tongue from the roof of my mouth I look around for some water or the call nurse button, which ever I come to first.

I see a cup sitting on the table beside the bed just out of reach and I lean over to grab it and hiss in surprise when my ribs protest. My casted arm comes down over them and I lean over to grab the cup when a surprisingly pale hand takes the cup. I look up and see a surprisingly familiar doctor.

“Bella. You need to relax and take it easy.” The doctor says, his name on the tip of my tongue, I just can’t think of it. “Do you remember what happened?” He offers me the cup and I take several large swallows before I answer.

“Car crash. Deer jumped out in front of me and I swerved to miss him…did I miss him?” Something like amusement flashes across the doctors, I gasp when I realize, yellow eyes. “And the truck rolled off the side of the road and I was there for a while until…Alice showed up.” His face is blank as he studies me for a minute.

“Alice and Edward were driving by and saw the skid marks. They found you and your truck upside-down. They called 911 and you were brought here. You have some cracked ribs, a broken wrist, and a concussion. The bandage is for a small cut.” He gestures to his head and my hand presses against the bandage. “You’ll need to come back in a few weeks so that I can remove the cast and as a follow up. The bandage can come off later tonight. We’ve already called your dad and he is waiting outside, I’ll let him know that he can come in. If you experience any dizziness, nausea, fatigue, or headaches call here and get into contact with me immediately.” He pauses and looks like he debates saying something. “And, Bella, I’m really glad you’re okay.” A slight smile graces his already handsome features and lightens his eyes.

“Thank you, for taking care of me.”

“It’s no problem, Bella, that’s what I’m here for.” He says and turns away.

“Doctor,” he pauses at the door and faces me, “where is Alice?”

“She is… at home.” I can’t help the disappointment that washes through me and I hear the doctor sigh quietly. “She was really worried about you. I sent her home so that you make rest in peace and so that you and your dad could talk.” He moves back towards the door and opens it, looking over his shoulder he adds, “I know she would like to see you,” and he leaves.

He’s gone not more than a minute before Charlie comes in, looking tired and a little ragged.

“Bella, I’m glad you’re alright.” In an odd display of affection, he gently wraps his arms around me. “I was worried. Good thing them Cullen kids were driving by.” He sits down in the chair and seems to melt into it as all the tension leaves his body.

“I’m fine, dad, promise. I’m sorry for worrying you and I’m sorry for totaling the truck.”

“It’s okay, Bella, the truck can be replaced. What happened?”

“Uhm… a deer ran in front of me. And I swerved to miss it.”

“A…deer?” Charlie looks annoyed for a moment before he chuckles and sighs. “Of course you did.” He runs a hand through his hair before sitting up. “You’ve been discharged, Dr. Cullen said he would send a nurse in with instructions and papers to send home and then we’re free to go.”

“Dad, what about school?”

“Dr. Cullen said that he wanted you to rest for a few days, you can go back on Thursday. In the meantime, his daughter, Alice I think, will be bringing your books and work by.”

“Alice is coming? Tomorrow?” I say and I’m simultaneously super excited and super nervous.

“Yeah… she is. Is that okay? I mean, she offered to take notes for you and teach you what they went over that day. I know it’s only two days but I thought it was a sweet offer.” Charlie asks, looking worried and I shake my head.

“No, no it’s fine. I just…don’t know her that’s all. It was really sweet of her to offer.”

“Yeah, she seems like a decent kid. She looked more worried then I did when she was pacing around out in the waiting room. I’m so glad her and her brother were there.” He wraps me up in a hug again, a little harder this time, and only releases me when the nurse walks into the room.

 

XxXxXxXxXx

 

The whole day I was torn between being excited to the point of vibrating out of my seat, and being so nervous I needed to throw up. When it rolled around to the time that school let out, I settled firmly on being nervous and when twenty minutes later there was knock on my door I nearly greeted her with the contents of my stomach.

“Hiya, Bella!” Alice says happily when I open the door. I, however, couldn’t say anything back. I was too busy staring at her. It had been eight years since the last time I had truly seen her and even with my fuzzy memories, she hadn’t changed. It was obvious that my younger self couldn’t appreciate her beauty because I didn’t remember her being this stunningly, _breathtakingly gorgeous_. I had grown taller than her and, obviously, had filled out, I am 18 after all, but she hasn’t changed. Her hair was the same, short and spikey. Her smile was the same, open, beautiful thing it always was and her eyes… her eyes hadn’t changed. They were still the most beautiful shade of golden honey I had ever seen. Those were the eyes that I had dreamt of for so long.

A giggle interrupts my gawking and I feel the blood rush to my cheeks and I step out of the door way and gesture her inside. I usher her to the living room and she sets herself and her stuff down on the couch.

“Can I, uh, get you anything? Water, soda, anything?” I ask, my voice squeaking with nerves that are not helped when she giggles again.

“Bella, I’m fine. Thank you, though.” She pats the spot next to her on the couch and I stiffly lower myself next her. Her smile quickly turns into a slight frown. “Are you okay? Are you in pain or anything?”

“No, I’m okay, just a little stiff is all.” I lie and she watches me, seemingly unconvinced, before smiling again and reaching for her bag.

“Okay, well what do you want to start with? Calculus or chemistry?” I stare at her a moment, waiting to see if she’s serious.

“Uh, calc is fine.” I say still staring and she just offers me a radiant smile before pulling out two text books and a binder.

“I’ll do my best to help you, but if you still don’t get it, I’m sure Jasper would be more than happy to help you. Seeing he is in your class and all.”

“I know…is he okay by the way?”

“What do you mean?” Alice asks, fiddling with stuff in her bag.

“Just, he seemed like he wasn’t feeling well and when I asked he said he had a migraine. I heard that he left right after class though, so I wanted to make sure that he was alright.” Alice looks at me, an odd, gentle expression on her face until she pulls out two pencils and hands me one.

“He’s fine. He had mentioned, later, that he had spoken with you and how grateful he was that you offered him some pain killers.”

“I didn’t do anything that he needs to be grateful for. I just made sure he was alright.”

“That’s something to be grateful for, Bella, kindness like yours is hard to come by these days. I’m sure that deer feels the same way.” I flush and look away. “Anyway, we have some math to do.”

We spend a little over an hour going over what happened in class and then another hour working on my homework. This process was delayed by my staring at Alice constantly. I had to ask her multiple times to repeat what she had said only because I was to busy studying the way her lips looked when she talked or how her dark hair made her pale skin look that much paler. How utterly beautiful I found her. When we did finally manage to finish our work, she started to put those books away only to grab the chemistry ones she had brought. Without thinking I spoke.

“Alice, are we going to sit here and pretend that we don’t know each other?” She stiffens up immediately and refuses to look at me.

“What do you mean? I met you at the crash yesterday. I figured you’d like to get your work done.” I frown and I feel irritation bubbling up within me.

“You damn well know what I mean. Yesterday wasn’t the first time we had seen each other, it wasn’t even the second or the third!” I see her shoulders drop.

“Bella…” her tired voice makes me even angrier.

“No! How dare you sit here and pretend I’ve not met you before. I met you when I was six years old. What’s amazing is that in that time, you’ve not changed one bit. I want to know how. But first I want to know why you think it was okay for you to come into my life, save me, and then vanish. You made me think that I had made you up! That you were some imaginary friend I had.”

“Bella, it’s complicated…”

“You had said we would be friends forever. You lied.” Alice looks surprised.

“You…you remember that?”

“I hadn’t, not for a long time. I remembered some things after the accident. I dreamt about you all the time when I was younger. Nightmares, mostly, about the bear and then about drowning. But, eventually, I stopped having them.” Alice looks pained for a moment before she turns to face me fully on the couch.

“Bella, I’m sorry. I know I have lots explain and I know you want answers now, but it’s not the best time. Can you give me some time?”

“Did you mean what you said?” I ask seriously, arms crossed.

“When I said what?” I stand and scoff.

“Nothing, doesn’t matter. Thank you for bringing my stuff. Can you just leave it?” I walk towards the front door and open it. “Tell Edward I said thank you for helping rescue me yesterday. Don’t worry about bringing my work tomorrow, I’ll work it out. Have a good night, Alice.” Alice looks alarmed while she gathers her things and pauses in the doorway.

“Bella, please.” I glare at her.

“Unless it is at school, I don’t want to see you again. Thank you for helping me today. Goodbye.” I ignore the tears gathering in Alice’s eyes and continue to stand to the side of the door. She steps forward, looking between me and the door, and her mouth opens but she shuts it with a click.

“Bye, Bella,” she says quietly before stepping out and I shut the door behind her feeling as though I had made the biggest mistake of my life.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muwahahah!!!!! :3
> 
> But do I dare continue? You know the outcome...

**Alice's POV**

The click of the door shutting causes my still heart to shatter into a million pieces. I can feel the sobs pulling at my chest, aching to come out. I quickly step from the door and out of sight from neighbors before I sprint away into the woods, but I'm not fast enough to miss Bella's erratic breathing and sniffling.

I make it back to the house and hurriedly make my way to my room, one that Jasper had moved out of twelve years ago, ignoring my family's questions as I go. I very much want to be left alone, but I don't want to spend it in the woods. I feel like the teenager my body makes me out to be. I can feel the emotions bubbling in my chest, I want nothing more than to cry and it makes me angry that I can't.

I had screwed up, royally, with Bella. Of course I knew what she meant when she asked and I had meant what I said, but it wasn't just my life that I would be disrupting. I have the whole family to think about. What would happen if I drug a human into our family? Let one in and learn our secret? What if Bella didn't love me as much as I loved her, had loved her since I had met her? I had seen bits of what could happen, possible futures. In some, Bella had golden eyes like the rest of us, and in others she had her gorgeous brown ones with kids and a husband. I don't know what to do and it's driving me insane.

"Alice?" A quiet knock and even quieter voice interrupts my wallowing and I sit up with a watery smile.

"I'm fine, Jasper, don't worry."

"I can feel what you're feeling and you're far from fine. Besides, you either talk to me or Rose." I wince slightly at his offer and get up to let him in.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're heartbroken. What happened?"

"What, Edward didn't tell you?" I snap and Jasper frowns at me.

"That's not fair and you know it, and he left before anyone had the chance to ask." I hang my head, ashamed, and Jasper shakes his head. "We know you are upset, that much is obvious. We just don't know why, you went to see Bella didn't you? You should be head over heels in love." I laugh humorlessly.

"I messed up, Jazz. Badly."

"How?" I sigh and shrug.

"I pretended to not know her. Then I pretended that I didn't know what she was talking about when she called me out on it. She asked me if I meant what I said to her when I found her after the crash and I basically said no. She told me that she doesn't want to see me again…how am I supposed to stay away when I _love_ her?" Jasper studies me closely for a minute before leading me to the bed and sitting next to me.

"Alice, why did you do all of that? You've waited years to see her again and this time you can be you."

"It's not just about me, Jazz, and it would be selfish to pretend that it is."

"Oh, bullshit." I stare wide-eyed at him. "You're just scared. You know you have the full support of all of us. We all know how long you've waited to meet her and then see her again. She's your mate Alice, it would be selfish of us to expect you not to try and be with her."

"But, Bella—"

"Is your mate and you've seen futures where she is one of us."

"I've seen just as many where she isn't."

"Did you ever stop to think that in the visions where she isn't it's because you don't try? I don't think she doesn't become one of us because she chooses not to, but because you choose for her not to. But you need to decide because it's not fair to anyone for you to keep running in and out of her life. If you love her, you need to make a decision." It takes a moment for his words to sink in and when they do, I'm hit with a vision.

' _ **Hey, Rose, have you seen Bella?' Rose turns towards me, trying to cover a small smile and her still-present affection for the girl.**_

' _ **Last I saw she was playing chess with Jasper out back.' I offer a quick kiss to her cheek in thanks and waste no time finding Bella.**_

_**I hug Esme as I pass her working in the garden and find Bella just where Rosalie said she would be, sitting in one of the chairs on either end of a chess table, Jasper nowhere to be seen. She doesn't turn to greet me and focuses on the forest beyond. I'm only a few feet away when she acknowledges me.** _

' _ **Hey, Ali, did you finish up whatever it was that Edward wanted?" I smile and lay my arms across her shoulders and rest my chin atop her head.**_

' _ **Yes, just a few adjustments to his music. Anonymous composing of music is a good fit for him. Did you match go well?' Bella scoffs and stands.**_

' _ **About as well as it usually does. It did take him longer than two minutes to utterly destroy me this time.' She turns and faces me, her golden eyes warm and filled with amusement. 'But you're here now, so I can't complain too much.' I chuckle and wrap arms securely around her neck, fingers playing with her hair.**_

' _ **That's my girl, ever the fighter.' Bella hums.**_

' _ **Indeed I am.' She then leans in and presses her lips to mine.**_

"Alice? Alice, what did you see?" Jasper asks, brows drawn together and I can't help but smile.

"Bella, I saw Bella. As a vampire. My vampire." I say and I know I sound lovestruck but I can't find it within me to care. Jasper has his own small smile playing at his lips.

"And what are you going to do, seeing that she doesn't want to see you?"

"What I should have done in the first place, I need to tell her the truth." There is a cheer from downstairs, that sounds suspiciously like Emmett, along with two slaps and two sets of hushing and I can't help but laugh. I had spent twelve years looking after Bella and making sure she was safe, it was time I spent the rest of eternity loving her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random note, guys, I want a puppy so badly ;~; I miss having one.

**Bella Swan—18 Years Old**

I had gotten my wish. I didn't see Alice, or any of the other Cullens, the rest of that week that I had told Alice to leave me alone. Not even at school. Although, for whatever reason Alice and her family hadn't changed all of these years, I'm sure they could afford to miss a few days of school. If my thoughts are a little bitter, I don't notice.

Now that it's Wednesday, it has been an entire week since I've last seen any Cullen and the school is simply buzzing with what could have happened. Things ranging from murder to Mrs. Cullen having an affair that had simply torn the family apart beyond repair. Ridiculous, all of it. At the same time, however, it seemed a little…conceited to think that maybe they didn't show up because of me. I had just asked Alice to leave me alone, not vanish off of the face of the planet. Which was why at lunch, the whispers of the Cullens being back didn't catch my attention, especially since Jasper wasn't in calc.

"Good afternoon, Bella." A warm voice says beside me and I startle slightly. I glance warily at the owner.

"Hello, Edward. Nice to see your family back at school. I hope everything is alright." Edward smiles, truly smiles, and nods his head.

"Things are going just fine, excellent you could say, actually."

"Well…uhm…good. I'm happy to hear it. I'm just gonna…" I gesture awkwardly behind me and Edward simply smiles again and bows his head.

"Enjoy your lunch, Bella." I toss a 'you, too' over my shoulder as I nearly sprint to the table, open mouths from Lauren, Jessica, and Mike greeting me. Angela offers me a small smile and a nudge in the shoulder.

"What was that?" Lauren demands.

"What was what?" I ask, ripping my plasticware open with more force than necessary.

"You. And Edward."

"It was nothing, he said hello, I said hello, and we wished each other a good lunch."

"No one smiles like that over pleasantries, Bella."

"Look, Lauren, I don't know. It was weird and he was smiling the entire time, it was kinda creepy. Next time, you talk to him." I say stabbing my mushy green beans and shoving them into my mouth, ignoring the laughter coming from the large one at the Cullens table. I had made a point not to glance in their direction at all.

"If only, none of the Cullens talk to anyone." Lauren pouts and I roll my eyes.

"If he heads my way again, I'll point him in your direction." The look Lauren shoots me is most definitely unimpressed and the laughter from across the cafeteria gets louder.

"Edward isn't the only one paying you attention." Angela whispers in my ear and I swallow my vegetable mush.

"What do you mean? Mike is always drooling over everyone."

"No, not Mike. You seem to have caught the attention of the entire Cullen bunch. More than once, I've caught them looking over here at you. Alice especially." Excitement and anger bubble through me and I fight the urge to look at the smallest of the Cullens.

"Yeah, well, I don't know why, there isn't anything to look at. They should waste their time on someone else." Angela looks at me worriedly.

"Didn't Alice and Edward—"

"Yes, and I'm grateful but they can stop pretending like they care." Shattering glass draws my attention towards the Forbidden Table where I see the blonde one, Rosalie, staring daggers at me and covered in water. Feeling brave, I glare right back until something spoken from the large one, Emmett I think, draws her attention away. Appetite lost, I pick up my lunch and chuck it before leaving to wander the building.

"Heya short stack." I groan internally and turn towards Emmett, who is wearing an easygoing smile. I can't even get two minutes alone.

"Just because you're freakishly large doesn't mean the rest of us are short." I say flatly and a bark of laughter escapes him.

"So I've been told. Shouldn't you be eating?"

"Says you, don't you have a fridge to raid or anything?" The easygoing smile never leaves.

"Nah, big breakfast. I just wanted to introduce myself since you've already met Alice, Eddy Boy, and Jasper." He steps forward and extends his giant hand. I roll my eyes and take his hand.

"Bella, but you already know that." Surprise flits across his features, "everyone knows who I am, no such thing as anonymity here." Emmett chuckles and takes his hand back. "Look, I don't know what's going on, if Alice put you up to this, but just don't. Please." Emmett's smile slides to something more protective than easygoing.

"Alice didn't ask me to talk to you. She'd be mad if she knew I was. I'm here to ask you to give her another chance. She knows she messed up and she wants to make it right." I feel a pressure behind my eyes and I reach up to pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Emmett, please. Just…drop it. If she wanted to talk, she would talk. Not that I really want to hear what she has to say." I mumble the last part and turn away but a cool hand stops me.

"You will this time, Bella, I promise. Please hear her out." I shake off his hand.

"Maybe. Oh, and tell your girlfriend that I don't know what I did but she can stop glaring at me."

"Rose is just protective is all, and she's worried that Alice will get hurt." I whirl around.

"Is she now? That's fucking nice for her. I haven't done a damn thing to Alice except for ask for the truth and been denied that. And since that is too hard I asked her to not come around anymore, to save me or otherwise. I'm done thinking that I'm maybe insane for seeing my childhood imaginary friend every time I'm in trouble. So you tell Rosalie that I haven't done a _damn_ thing to Alice." I finish my rant, hands balled in anger and jaw clenched.

"You're right, you haven't."

"Fucking fantastic, truly. Excellent planning Emmett, well done." I say, turning my anger towards the new member of this oh-so-fantastic conversation.

"Emmett isn't why I'm here, Bella." Alice says quietly.

"And stalling me enough for you to come and talk to me was a mere coincidence, then? My luck continues I see."

"Emmett, please." Emmett puts his hands up and walks back towards the cafeteria. "Bella, can we talk?"

"I sure we could, but I don't want to. But thank you for asking." I walk away, not quite with a direction in mind other than away from Alice.

"I meant what I said." I freeze but don't turn around.

"You mean you meant what you don't remember saying, according to last Tuesday." There's a pause before I hear her step closer to me.

"I knew what you meant then…I just, I don't know Bella, it's all very complicated and I want to talk to you about it, but after your wreck didn't seem like a good time. But," she pauses and I can feel her behind me, a slight chill coming from her skin, "I meant what I said. I won't leave you, not again. Never, and if you'll give me some time to explain why…" she gently takes my right wrist in her cool hand and I gasp at the contact. Turning to her, I study her. There's something in her golden eyes, and her expression is hopeful. I open my mouth to speak but the bell signaling the end of lunch sounds. Alice's face falls and her shoulders drop. She releases my wrist and turns away from me.

"After school. You should come over, or ride home with me, something. Then we can talk in private." Alice's face lights up and a wide smile splits her face. "But, Alice, this is your last chance. After this, I'm done."

"Oh, sweetheart, I know and, I promise, I'll answer all your questions!" She bounces forward and kisses my cheek. "I can't wait!" As Alice Cullen seemingly dances away, I stare, open-mouthed, with my hand on my cheek feeling like I had made the best decision of my life.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, now that I think about it, there's really only three things I want in this world. A dog, a family, and for my loved ones to be happy. Forgive me, I'm in a mushy mood.

**Bella Swan—18 Years Old**

When the bell rings signaling the end of the day I am, once again, filled with nerves. As I'm heading out to the parking lot, I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to see Emmett giving me a big thumbs up and a wink, a not pleased Rosalie next to him. I offer him the best smile I can muster in return.

I push the door open and find Alice waiting for me at the top of the steps.

"Bella! I was thinking we could just take my car to your house." I glance at the parking lot warily.

"I don't know, Alice, I don't think I should leave my car here, it's on loan from one of my dad's friends…besides, how am I supposed to get here tomorrow?"

"Well, I was hoping that if this conversation went well, that maybe we could hang out. If not, I'd have one of my siblings bring it by or I could take you to pick it up," her face falls, "but we can take both cars if you like."

"No!" I say and blush when people turn to look at me. "I mean, no, it's okay. We can take your car." The smile that graces her features makes my outburst worth it.

"Then let's go!" With that, she takes off down the steps and is halfway across the parking lot before I have a chance to get completely down the stairs.

"Alice," she stops and turns around, "I can't go anywhere too quickly, fractured ribs and all that." Alice looks horrified for a moment and the next she's by my side, hands hovering over me.

"Oh my God, Bella, I'm so sorry. I forgot. I was just so excited it escaped me. Are you alright, do you hurt, Emmett can carry you if you need him to." Her eyes are searching my face and I can't help but laugh, reminding me still that I'm not healed completely after the wreck.

"I'm fine, Alice, really." At her unconvinced, worried look, I gently take her hand in mine, her skin icy. "I promise, I just won't be running any marathons anytime soon." That seems to satisfy her enough to move to my side and loop her arm through my un-casted one.

"I am sorry that I forgot, though." I just shake my head and she sighs. "Bella, I don't think I ever told you how relieved I was that I was able to get to you last week. How happy you are that you're safe." We reach her car and after I get over the initial shock of seeing a canary yellow Porsche, I file that away under "Things to Ask Later", I turn to her.

"Yeah, well, I am, too. So, thank you, again, for helping me." I blush as she opens the door and helps me into her car. She leans over, unnecessarily helping me with my seatbelt, our faces inches apart. I can see just how _golden_ her eyes are. Just how heartbreakingly beautiful she is. She leans in fractionally closer so that our noses brush and I can feel myself being drawn towards her, my eyes dropping down to her lips when she pulls away just enough to break the spell.

"You don't need to thank me, I'm just glad you're alright." She looks away and clears her throat. "Let's get you home," she says quietly, before gently shutting my door and climbing in on her side.

XxXxXxXxXx

We don't talk much on the way home. I spend most of the ride studying her and memorizing her features. A couple of times she catches me looking at her and I would flush and look away, but not without seeing a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

We reach my house and she helps me out of the car. We go inside and I see a note left by Charlie saying he was going to hang out with Billy. A quick sigh of relief and a glass of water later Alice and I are perched awkwardly next to each other on the couch sitting in silence. This lasts for a solid two minutes before I groan and lean back, closing my eyes.

"Bella, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, this is just painfully awkward is all." I open one eye and look at her, "can we just… I dunno, start and get this over with?"

"That sounds easy enough, do you want to ask questions and me answer or do you want me to just begin?"

"Questions, please." At Alice's slow nod I suck in a deep breath. "I've met you before haven't I?" Again, Alice nods. "When was the first time?"

"You were six. You got lost in the woods trying to follow your friend. It got dark and I found you." She says matter-of-factly. Memories, fuzzy and disjointed, come back to me. Of hide and seek and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"I remember. You gave me your jacket and I met your family," I laugh, "I had met them all before I had no clue. And," I pause, feeling sad over the torn jacket that had met it's end at the crash, "I'm sorry about your jacket. I kept it all these years. It was my favorite." Alice offers me a small smile.

"You were little, Bella, it's been 12 years. We didn't expect you to remember, that was kind of the point."

"But you came back and saved me again?" Alice sighs and looks away.

"Yes, I did, twice."

"Not that I'm not grateful, but why?" I ask and Alice laughs.

"Besides the fact that you were in danger and needed saving?"

"Like I said, not that I'm not grateful, but how were _you_ there?" I ask and scoot closer to her.

"Let me ask you something. Have you not noticed how I haven't changed in the last decade?"

"I noticed, give me some credit, but I figured we'd get to that." I shrug and Alice laughs.

"Bella, I told you this was complicated. The reason behind why I don't look older is the answer as to why I saved you, why I've been there."

"So pick which one you want to answer first, if they're both relevant." Alice looks at me then, and she looks nervous and scared and worried all at the same time. "Alice, I promise, whatever it is, it's okay." She simply smirks and shakes her head.

"Fine, to put it simply, the reason I was there, the reason I will always be there, is because I am head over heels, forever in love with you."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a decision to make, my friends. Do I let this be the end or do I continue?

**Bella Swan—18 Years Old**

"Pardon?" I squeak out and Alice just offers a gentle smile.

"I am in love with you. Never-fading, until-my-last-breath, you-are-my-world kind of in love."

"Ah, that's what I thought you said." I say my voice still an octave higher than normal. "And if I ask how that's possible seeing as the first time we've really spent any time together was last Tuesday, you would say?"

"That I've loved you since the first time I saw you." She says simply, eyes dancing with amusement.

"Creepy." I deadpan and she laughs, her hand resting on my arm. "You do know that that makes you a pedophile, right? Loving a six-year-old."

"Actually," Alice hums, "I saw you before that."

"Not helping the pedophile thing." I say flatly but curiosity gets the better of me. "When, then?"

"A few months before we actually met in person. You were five." I open my mouth but she beats me to it. "Your birthday is a part of your medical chart and I saw it. I had to look since dad wouldn't just tell me." She grumbles the last part.

"Okay, okay. Let's just push past the creepy factor here for a moment," I ignore Alice's laugh and continue, "I honestly think the more important question here is how."

"Well, technically, love is a mixture of chemicals—"

"Hilarious. Creepy and a smart ass. Not how do you love me, you jerk, how haven't you changed?" Alice's smile turns a little strained.

"That's the complicated portion to all of this."

"Alice," I warn and she takes my hands into her own.

"I'm going to tell you, but you need to know that it's a _family_ secret. Not just mine."

"You found the fountain of youth?" I ask drily and Alice chuckles.

"Nothing quite so simple." I scoff at her 'simple'. "The reason my family and I haven't aged at all is because we're vampires."

It takes everything I have to not laugh right there. The only thing that stops me is the childlike fear on Alice's face. There isn't anything deceiving in her expression. I swallow the rest of my laughter and clear my throat.

"Pardon?"

"We're vampires, Bella." I have the urge to laugh again but I stomp that into submission.

"You're…vampires? Blood drinking, garlic hating, stake dying vampires?" I ask a little bit of humor leaking into my tone.

"Yes, no, and no. Garlic doesn't do anything to us and a wooden stake would just shatter if used against us."

"Right, of course."

"Bella, I'm telling you the truth."

"I mean…Alice… come on, vampires, really? I'm sorry, I'm trying to keep an open mind, really, but that's a lot to ask don't you think?"

"I can prove it." I chuckle at her and she frowns.

"I can drink blood, too, Alice, as gross as it is, you don't have to be a vampire to do it."

"Ugh, Bella, there are other ways to prove it."

"Naturally. Wait, how are you able to go into the sun if you are a vampire."

"Seriously, Bella, are you going to get all of your facts about vampires from movies and books?"

"Versus the vampire questions hotline that everyone knows about?" Alice laughs and shakes her head.

"Fair enough. There are other traits that vampires have, you know. Superior speed, strength and senses. Immortality, as you know, and some vampires can even have certain extra abilities."

"Of course they do, because being super strong and super fast is too mainstream."

"I am one such vampire, as is Edward and Jasper." Alice says through her laughter.

"Oh? Do tell."

"I can see into the future," at my dubious look she continues, "so to speak. The future is always changing. It depends on the decisions that are made. I can see one such future but if the person changes their mind, that future might not come to pass. Sometimes, I can see visions of the other future. But I can't control it, it happens randomly and without warning."

"Jasper and Edward?"

"Jasper is an empath and has influence over other peoples' emotions. And Edward can read minds." I make a face and Alice giggles. "Interestingly enough, he can't read yours. A fact that upset him at first and then piqued his interest later. We actually had quite the…discussion about you just before you arrived to Forks."

"You knew I was coming?"

"I saw it, yes. That's also how I saw you when you were five. I saw the decision being made to take that vacation to Alaska and that's when I saw you."

"And when you fell in love?"

"Yes." Alice says, her eyes searching mine.

"But…how? How could you have fallen in love by seeing me through a vision?" I ask, avoiding her gaze and the butterflies in my stomach.

"Vampire romances are different than they are for humans. The closest human comparison is soulmates"

"Soulmates?"

"Yes. We have someone that is meant for us. That completes us. Nothing quite so dramatic as the werewolf mating."

"Werewolves?"

"Oh yes, they have mates, too. But when they find theirs everything and everyone fades away. That person becomes the wolf's anchor to the world. Any and all other relationships mean nothing. It's all very dramatic, really. Wolves always are." Alice finishes with an eyeroll.

"Vampires and werewolves?"

"Yes."

"You do know how utterly ridiculous this all sounds, right? I'm not trying to be mean, but c'mon Alice." Alice doesn't look upset, instead she just smirks.

"As I said, I can prove it."

"Then by all means, do so."

"Name something sitting upstairs. Sitting out."

"Uhm, there's a stuffed cuttlefish sitting on my bed, I got it—" before I even finish Alice is gone and then back beside me, with the stuffed cuttlefish. "How did you?" I take the cuttlefish from her.

"We're fast." I stare at her, mouth open and she giggles. "Careful, love, you'll catch flies." My jaw clicks shut.

"Strength?"

"It would be easier if we were somewhere where I could demonstrate openly without risk of people seeing," she pauses and looks at almost shyly, "I know of such a place if you'd like to come with me." mind still reeling, I nod. With a giggle, Alice helps me out to her car and buckles me in.

XxXxXxXxXx

This "such a place" ended up being in the middle of nowhere. A gorgeous middle of nowhere, but nowhere all the same. A nowhere that it took us 10 minutes to get here (using Alice's new driving which means like 150 miles an hour, wasn't a fan) and then a good ten minutes of Alice carrying me (more of a fan) and sprinting through the forest (less of a fan). "Such a place" is a small clearing with a small waterfall and stream running through it. Like I said, it's gorgeous.

"So this display of strength?"

"I guess I could have just picked up the car when we got here, but where is the fun in that?" She laughs and I can't help laughing with her.

"Oh yes, can't have the boring displays of strength."

"Indeed not." Alice's eyes are on me and they are surprisingly gentle. She continues watching me for a moment before clearing her throat and moving away and towards a dead tree that was on the edge of the clearing, surrounded by healthier trees.

Alice walks up to the tree, running a hand along it's rough and gnarled trunk. Even though it's dead it's still quite beautiful. It's branches reach tall and wide, almost dwarfing the trees around it. Its trunk is nearly twice the size as the others. Without warning, Alice wraps her arms around the trunk as far as she can and lifts. Creaking, popping, and groaning fill the clearing. I stare in shock as the tree starts to lift from the ground, the roots almost as impressive as the branches. She eventually lifts it from the ground completely and tosses the trunk next to the stream adding even more to the already impressive landscape and leaving behind a sizeable crater.

"Well, does that satisfy you?" Alice asks, walking up to me, wiping dirt and bark from her clothes and offering a quiet "tch" at a small tear in her shirt.

"You were right," I say and she cocks a brow at me, "the car would have been boring." Alice laughs and loops her arm through mine.

"Told you it would be! You should just accept now that I'm always right." I wrap my brain around what I just saw and find I'm able to accept it quite easily, and I'm sure it has nothing to do with the ever increasing somersaults that my stomach does every time I look into Alice's eyes.

"That's assuming that I decide to stick around." I tease but the immediate falling of her face says that I shouldn't have.

"You still don't believe me?" Alice's voice is small and it causes my heart to ache, but I consider her words and all that she has shown me.

"You have some compelling arguments," I gesture to the tree, "I have some more questions if you'll answer them?" I smile and Alice's relieved smile makes chest to tighten pleasantly. We walk to the newly located tree and sit to watch the stream happily gurgle by.

"Do you only drink blood?" I ask after a moment my voice wavering with nerves. Alice seems to as well because she turns to look at me, her hand taking mine.

"Yes, but we don't drink from people, Bella, we only drink from animals." Something in my shoulders loosens and I'm able to relax. "It's why our eyes are golden. A "normal" vampire's eyes are red." It takes everything I have to not reach up and trace a finger around her stunning eyes.

"Do people not appeal to you?" Alice chuckles darkly and I almost regret asking.

"They do. More than anything. The thirst is always there, it's just a matter of being in control of it. It takes a long time and there are always some…slip ups." I wince and Alice squeezes my hand gently. "That's why Jasper has a hard time."

"Is he new?"

"No, he's actually 60 years older than I am, but he hasn't always drank animal blood. The transition has been more difficult for him."

"Is that why he left early the other day?" I ask and Alice nods. I pause and consider my next question, "how long have you been a vampire?" Alice tilts her head and hums.

"I was turned in 1920. I was 19." I stare and she giggles "It's been a while, I know."

"Are you the youngest?"

"No, Carlisle is the oldest, then Jasper, Edward, me, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett." I nod when a thought occurs to me.

"Do you know what this means?" I ask with as much seriousness as I can and Alice looks concernedly at me.

"Bella? What?"

"Not only are you a pedophile, you're a cougar!" I say and cackle at my own realization. Alice gasps beside me and gently shoves me.

"I'm so glad you find this amusing." She huffs and I continue to laugh.

"That's because it is amusing." I respond, wiping at my eyes.

"It, uh, doesn't bother you? Me loving you or being a vampire?"

"No… it's a lot to get used to, but no. And I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel _something_ towards you. I just don't love you, not right now." Despite my words a huge smile breaks across Alice's face.

"That's okay, I've had twelve years, you've had only a few days. Bella," Alice says gently, taking my face between her hands, "more than anything I just want to be your friend. I don't need, nor would I ask for, anything more than that." Her words cause my heart to swell and a warmth to fill my chest.

"I'd love for us to be friends, Alice." She smiles and it takes my breath away. There must be a break in the cloud cover because sunlight fills the clearing and when it lands on Alice it causes my heart to stutter. It looks like she is covered in millions of tiny raindrops. She literally sparkles and it makes her look like an angel. The urge to kiss her is overwhelming and I lean in closer to her, my eyes dropping to her lips. I hear her gasp.

"Bella?" she asks quietly and I glance back into her eyes. I can see the uncertainty and hope there but the overwhelming emotion contained within them is love. Tender, unwavering love. I realize now just how honest she was being with me. She had been in love with me for years. She had saved me only to pull away so that I could go back to my normal life. I couldn't imagine doing that. I had told her the truth, as well, I had felt drawn to her from the moment we met, and that grew as I got older. When I had seen her after the accident, I felt like I was seeing a friend I hadn't in years (in a way that's what had actually happened). The truth, now despite that I had told her that I wanted to be friends for now, was that I wanted to kiss her.

"Bella?" She asks again, her voice even quieter, breathy. I smile gently and reach up with my right hand, tucking her hair behind her ear and cupping her jaw.

"Alice." I say before sliding my hand to the back of her neck and pressing my lips against hers.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sigh* romance stuff sucks XD
> 
> I don't think I've thanked everyone for all of the kudos and comments. Nor did I for my other stories. So, thank you so, so, so, so, so much. It means the world to me. I hope you've liked everything and I hope you like this chapter as well ^-^

**Bella Swan—18 Years Old**

When our lips touch I hear Alice breathe in sharply through her nose. For a moment, she is still before a tiny whimper escapes her and she pushes against me, lips moving against mine. Her hands rest on my hips, squeezing gently. I gasp softly when her tongue runs against the seam of my lips, and Alice pulls away, sharply.

“Fuck, Bella, I’m sorry.” Alice says, removing her hands from my body and ducking her head. “I just got a little carried away.”

“Alice.” I say but she doesn’t let me continue.

“Just took me by surprise is all,” I open my mouth but she rambles on, “and I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while,” I blush but can’t help but smile at her admission and place a finger on her lips, silencing her.

“Alice,” the worry in her eyes makes my heart ache but I clear my throat, “Alice, I wanted you to kiss me. That’s why I kissed you.” Her eyes widen in surprise.

“Really?” She asks, voice small.

“Really, and I wouldn’t be opposed to you doing it again.” Her answering smile is blinding and I lean in for another kiss, but a cold, gentle hand presses against my chest and worry floods my system at the serious look darkening Alice’s eyes.

“Bella. I would love nothing more than to kiss you again, but you just said that you were okay with being friends… this isn’t something that friends do,” she smiles but it’s small and sad, “and I won’t be able to play both. We can’t be friends that kiss occasionally. I’m not asking you outright to be more than friends, but I am asking that you pick to be one or the other.” Her voice cracks, “my heart can’t handle in between.” My heart shatters at her words and I realize that kissing her after saying I wanted to be friends maybe wasn’t the best idea. She’s been in love with me for years and I just up and kiss her, with her thinking I don’t want anything more. I reach down and take her hand into my own, interlacing our fingers, and press them to my chest.

“Alice, I didn’t just kiss you for the hell of it. I want there to be an “us”, but we’ll need to go slowly. I’ve not done much of this before, and never with a vampire,” I offer a small smile, “but we also need to get to know one another.” I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles, “but I don’t want to be just friends.” Alice’s eyes sparkle when she steps close to me.

“Is kissing going too fast?” she teases and I roll my eyes.

“We’re kinda past that, aren’t we?”

“Always polite to ask, sunshine.” I raise my eyebrow at her nickname for me and she just shrugs and steps even closer so that there is only a few inches separating us. She untangles our fingers, reaches up with both hands, and gently cups my face. She pulls me close, our noses brushing, breaths mingling, “may I?” My eyes flick down to her lips before meeting her gaze, my heart thudding in my chest.

“Please.” I say breathlessly and a brief smile graces her features before she gently presses our lips together.

I sigh and melt into the kiss, my arms winding around Alice’s waist. Her hand twists into my hair while the other rests against my shoulder. I tilt my head and press harder against her before swiping my tongue across her lips. With a groan she opens her mouth but surprises me when she slips her tongue into my mouth, teasing mine with her own. She goes to pull away, but I snag her surprisingly soft lip between my teeth and bite down, pulling gently. Alice growls suddenly and I find myself on my back on the tree, Alice’s leg pressing between my own, her kissing me hard. I gasp into her mouth and she takes the opportunity to explore with her tongue again. The sharp bolt of pleasure that shoots between my legs is enough to startle me out of my aroused state and I pull away slightly with a breathless, “Alice”. Immediately, Alice is off of me and I’m upright, if not a little dizzy from the sudden movement. I blink a few times until the forest rights itself only to find Alice wearing a sheepish, albeit pleased, smile. Her eyes significantly darker than before.

“Too fast?”

“A little, yeah.” I say, my voice a little rough and Alice’s eyes darken some more. Curious, I clear my throat and scoot closer to her. “Why do your eyes do that?” Alice looks at me, confused. “Get darker.” Alice looks almost embarrassed.

“Oh, that’s part of the vampire thing. It happens whenever we feel something strongly or are hungry.” I immediately feel bad.

“Oh my God, Alice, I’m so sorry. Do you need to…uhm…eat? Feed? Have a beverage?” Alice laughs and takes my hand in her own.

“No, sunshine, I’m okay. Like I said, it also comes with strong emotions. Anger, sadness…” she looks embarrassed again, “arousal.” I flush and look down, but I hear a low rumble coming from Alice. Alarmed, I look at her and see her eyes are even darker than before.

“Alice?”

“Sorry, sweetie, you just smell really, really good.” Her voice is low and it causes more heat to rush through my body, Alice closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. After a moment she opens her eyes and while they are still darker than normal, they aren’t as dark. “Sorry. I’m fine, I promise, and I’ll behave.” Part of me wants to tell her that I don’t want her to behave but I don’t think that that would fall into ‘taking it slow’.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, sweetie, this is just new and what I’ve wanted for a long time so it’s hard to hold back,” I feel my face fall and Alice notices, “it’s not your fault, sunshine. I just have to learn control.” She tosses me a wink and I blush again.

“Do you want me to keep my distance for a while?” I ask hoping I kept my disappointment to myself. Alice laughs and in one simple movement she picks me up and places me on her lap, my response being an undignified squeak.

“Never. Immersion therapy has always been one of my favorites,” the grin she flashes is roguish, “the more I’m around you the faster I’ll be able to… take control.” I squeak again and duck my head, hiding behind my hair. Alice chuckles softly and moves my hair, all darkness in her eyes gone, replaced by love. “However, if you ever feel uncomfortable, I want you to tell me. I know that this,” she glances down, “is all very new to you.” She smiles understandably and loosens her hold on me, granting me escape. Instead I tuck my head into the crook of her neck and snuggle closer. Alice seems to almost purr as she tightens her arms around me. After a few minutes of sitting comfortably wrapped around one another, a thought occurs to me.

“Alice?” She hums in acknowledgement. “What is your family going to say?”


End file.
